


The Fallen Children

by tsukithewolf



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ambiguous Gender Chara, Ambiguous gender Frisk, Angst, Asriel never died, Author has played with the timeline and world a bit, Chara never died, Characters will die but they'll come back, Different universe than the original Undertale, Discussions of gender, Fallen Children AU, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I'll be editing the tags as I go, Misgendering, Original Characters - The 6 Souls, Some experimentation, Third Person Limited to all of the children, This story will get darker as we go further in, alternating pov, more tags to be added as I go along, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-07-14 13:47:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 41,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7174256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukithewolf/pseuds/tsukithewolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eight human children fell into the Underground, and eight human children survived. Frisk travels through an Underground where neither Chara nor Prince Asriel died, and they discover that all of the children who had disappeared live hidden from the eyes of the Underground's rulers. A story of seven children trying to return back to the surface, avoiding capture, and maybe, just maybe, helping to free the monsters once and for all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had this story idea ever since I saw the idea of "what if the humans never died"? And now here I am writing it. You will all be introduced to all of the humans as we go along, and I will be posting pictures of them on my tumblr. I will be world-building as I go! These first chapters are a bit slow, but I hope you all enjoy nonetheless!
> 
> If you like it, please consider leaving me feedback to let me know how I'm doing! Or what you think of the characters, or whatever!

Frisk awoke in pain, aching all over. They were almost certain that they had broken something, but somewhere in their mind they knew they would probably be in much more pain if they really had broken something. Even so, the throbbing of their body made them wish they hadn’t woken up yet. What had happened to them, and why were they hurting so much? They curled up some, but that only sent more waves of agony through them. Okay, maybe they should just lay there for a moment. 

In the meantime, they opened their eyes. For the most part everything was dark around them. Dim light was illuminating the area around where they had fallen, surrounding them in a halo of sunlight. They looked to be in a cave of some sorts. They were laying on a small hill of soil that had some grass and wildflowers barely surviving in it. Their mouth tasted like a little bit of blood. They wiggled their fingers into the dirt. It was cool to the touch. Beside them was a good sized stick that they had fallen down with. Frisk grabbed it. They felt a little more secure with it. Frisk hesitantly rolled over onto their back, cringing from the pain, so that they could see where the light was coming from. Above them there was a large hole far up where the light had been coming in from. 

 

Frisk boggled at the height. Had they fallen that far? And survived? It was impossible, and yet here they were. What had saved them? They felt a little sick at the thought. They hadn’t expected to survive, but now that they still lived they figured they might as well try to find a way out. But first they needed to sit up.

 

Frisk took a couple of breaths to prepare themselves before they carefully rolled themselves over again to get to their hands and knees. There was a lot of aching and complaining from their body, but no screaming. So far so good. They pulled their feet under them and stood up with a soft whimper as they steadied themselves. A quick check of their body showed no blood other than some scrapes, but their arm was throbbing badly and their elbow appeared to be swelling. It hurt to bend it. It was possibly sprained. 

 

They were lucky their legs still worked. They took one step, and then another. The pain was manageable. They weren’t sure why they were forcing themselves like this, but they knew that they needed to move forward. They looked better around themselves now that they weren’t completely focused on their body. They needed to find a way out, but were they just trapped in this pit? It would be impossible to climb, especially with their arm the way it was. Frisk wished they had some ice. They turned around slowly in place until their eyes adjusted more to the darkness.

 

Now that they were looking, there were pillars all around them. They hadn’t even noticed. The pillars looked fairly old, and some were broken off. Why was there architecture down here? Did that mean there were people down here? They followed the pillars around the area they were in until the pillars went down a tunnel and disappeared around a corner. There was no where else to go. Frisk began to walk that way. 

 

When they turned the corner they discovered a large door. It had to be three times the height of Frisk, and far too large for a normal door. Who made doors this large, and why would they? Frisk pushed against it and managed to open it far enough to slip past. They rubbed their sore elbow with a wince. On the other side was a black room with a single light peeking through the ceiling again to light up a small patch of grass. It appeared that the sun could enter the mountain in certain places. They walked past the mound and glanced curiously at the grass before they passed through another doorway, this time without any door on it.

 

The area here was much lighter, illuminated by a light source Frisk couldn’t find. There were two sets of stone stairs on the opposite sides of the room leading up to a stone platform and another doorway. There were red leaves gathered between the stairs, almost like a bed and a ring of leaves surrounding an area of sunlight that slipped through the ceiling. Sitting at the top of the stairs on the stone platform was another human.

 

“Oh, you’re here.” The human said as she stood up and dusted her long skirt off. She walked with a friendly but stiff gait as she descended the stairs to stand in front of Frisk. “You were a little faster this time. Let’s try not to die so soon this time, shall we?”

 

Frisk stared at this other human. She was a dark-skinned girl with thick wavy black curls and stern dark green eyes. Her hair was pushed back by a faded red ribbon that she wore more like a hairband than as a hair tie. Her nose was a little large and she appeared a bit older than Frisk, but she gave off the air of someone much older than her looks. She was a little taller than Frisk. Frisk wasn’t sure how they felt about seeing another human. She was extremely cute.

 

It was then that what she said processed. Frisk sent her a baffled look and opened their mouth, but then closed it, unable to voice their own shock. She gave them a sympathetic smile.

 

“Sorry,” she apologized, “you don’t remember a thing, do you?”

 

Frisk slowly shook their head, unsure of what she was referring to. She sighed and ran a hand over her face. Her hand then dropped to the belt around her waist where a knife sat sheathed. Frisk tried not to stare at it. Was that a real knife? They held their stick just a little bit tighter. This didn’t seem to go unnoticed by the girl.

 

“It’s okay that you don’t remember.” She shook her head. “Although it would be a lot easier if you had. I guess we’ll just have to try again and be more careful this time.” She held out her hand to Frisk. “Hello, my name is Rebecca. But please just call me Becca.  _ Never _ call me Rebecca.”

 

Frisk held out their hand and shook hers. It was a strong grip with some callouses on it that Frisk could feel. “I’m Frisk.” They introduced quietly. She smiled, amused. Frisk decided they liked her smile. It reminded them of their mom’s. 

 

“I know. We’ve met before. Or, that’s what I’m guessing considering.” Frisk tilted their head in confusion. What did she mean? She shook her head again, her curls swishing around her face. “Never mind. I’ll explain along the way. After all, it’s good that we know what you can do now. I had my suspicions, but that’s it. Besides, we should probably fix you up a bit.”

 

Becca turned and walked over to the bed of leaves before she dug around a little bit in the corner to uncover a backpack of sorts. It was an old and ratty thing that didn’t look like it would survive any type of travel, but Becca was able to pull out a blanket, a pillow, and jug from it. She tossed the blanket and pillow onto the leaves carelessly and carried the jug over to Frisk. There were black things floating around in it. She held the jug out for Frisk to take.

 

Frisk opened their mouth to ask what it was, but she quickly cut them off to say, “It’s better not to question it. Just drink. You’ll feel a lot better, trust me.” Frisk decided to trust her and drank deeply from the jar. The drink itself was mildly sweet and very tasty, but the things floating in the drink had a crunch to them that made Frisk shudder. Becca gave them another sympathetic face. Frisk drank about half before they handed it back. The pain in their body was almost completely gone, but there was still some soreness in their elbow. 

 

“Great! Now we can move on.” She somehow managed to stuff the jar into the pockets of her outfit. Frisk startled at the sight. How did she do that? She laughed at their reaction. “I guess this can be our first lesson. Okay, so, welcome to the Underground. You’re here because you fell down, right? No need to tell me why or how; those are your personal reasons. But you’re here now, and I’m afraid you’re stuck here.”

 

Frisk frowned, looking around them. They pointed to the doorway that they haven’t been through yet. Becca glanced at it. “That’s the entrance to the Ruins. I’ll take you there in a bit. I just wanted to get all of these introductions out of the way first. Are you prepared to go? We can come back later, but it would be best if once we enter that we move forward.”

 

Frisk stared up the entrance of the Ruins. It’s shadow loomed above them, and they were filled with determination. Something seemed to click for them, and unconsciously they were aware that they had managed to SAVE. Frisk wasn’t positive as to what that was, but they were certain it would be useful later. Their body thrummed with the determination, and they nodded at Becca. She smiled brightly. Frisk wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but they were glad to have someone by their side.

 

Becca turned then and started up the stairs, lifting the hem of her long skirt along the way. Frisk followed behind, still marveling over their sudden recovery. She paused once to gaze at the pile of leaves, almost as if she didn’t expect to return, before she motioned for Frisk to continue to follow her through the doorway. On the other side was a closed door with a lever next to it, and six large buttons the size of stepping stones on the floor. 

 

“In the Underground, there are monsters.” Becca started, turning to bring Frisk to a stop. “We’ll most likely meet some later.” She walked over to the buttons and stepped on four of them in an order she knew until something clicked, and then she pulled the switch by the door. “The Underground is also filled with puzzles. To proceed to the next room, you have to solve the puzzle that’s there. They’re to capture any humans that come down here, but I think the monsters just like them.” She paused, appearing contemplative, “Or, rather, most do? There are usually hints on how to solve them. You’ll get used to them. I know how to solve all of the ones here anyway.”

 

She entered the door. Frisk looked around them at the room trying to imagine what the monsters would look like before they followed after her. This room was long and had vines growing on the walls and waterways. Becca walked until she found a switch and pulled it. She then pointed to a set of levers near the end of the room. “Pull that first one.” Frisk listened. Near them a set of spikes in the ground disappeared with a thump. 

 

“Any questions so far?” Becca joined Frisk and motioned to the water before she kneeled down to drink some. It looked extremely clean and Frisk was able to see the stone underneath. They ducked their hands in and decided to clean their face and hands. The water tasted as clean as it looked. Frisk wanted to keep drinking it.

 

They had many questions for Becca, but they had a feeling she would explain much more as they went along. And they didn’t think she would offer up any personal information yet. They shook their head. Becca gave them a knowing look as she stood and led the way to the next room. This one was small and contained a single dummy. Frisk gazed at it curiously.

 

Becca stopped in front of the other doorway in the room, her face dropping to a more serious look. “Monsters will attack you.” She warned. Frisk stiffened. “When they do, you’ll enter a . . .” She paused and looked embarrassed. “I don’t really know how to explain it, so just face the dummy and I’ll help you through.”

 

Frisk gave her a confused frown and turned to the dummy. All of a sudden, something  _ pulled _ at their chest. They gasped as a little red heart appeared in front of them, altering their vision. The world lost color, and all they could see in front of them was the white dummy. They tried to move their body, but their body barely responded as instead the little heart moved. Their vision was coming from the heart, but they could vaguely feel their physical body and could see the heart from their actual eyes. They were scared, unsure of what was happening.

 

“Becca?” They called, voice wavering a bit.

 

“It’s alright.” Becca soothed. They felt a hand on their shoulder, but it was barely registered. “Do you see that little heart? That’s your Soul. It’s everything that you are.” She leaned into Frisk’s ear. “It’s your  _ magic. _ ”

 

“M-magic?” Frisk whispered.

 

“I’ll explain more about that later. You can’t really DO any magic, but this is important to know. When you’re like this, you’re in a battle with a monster. When you battle a monster, you can Fight, Act, use an Item, or you can refuse to attack and choose to use Mercy instead.” Frisk opened their mouth, and Becca said quickly, “Yes I know it’s like a video game. I told you it was hard to explain. I don’t understand it either. Work with me.” Frisk closed their mouth, vaguely amused. She huffed. “Anyway, Fighting a monster is the quickest way out of a battle, however usually if you Act correctly, you can convince the monster not to fight anymore and you can both leave the battle. Go ahead and try.”

 

Frisk didn’t like the idea of Fighting. They didn’t want to hurt anyone if they could absolutely help it. They decided to Act instead, but struggled to think of something to do. Was this a monster dummy, or just a dummy? Frisk decided to try to talk to it.

 

“How are you?” They asked. The dummy didn’t respond. It didn’t seem to be a very good conversationalist. However, the battle abruptly ended and Frisk’s Soul returned to their body. They gasped as color returned to their vision and their sight changed. Once their bearings were back, Becca clapped a little.

 

“Good job, although that’s a, uh, interesting method. At least it worked. Under normal circumstances, we would go into battle together though, because we’re a team.” She took Frisk’s hand briefly, smiling that lovely smile again before she released their hand. “Frisk, there is something you must know before we continue.” She motioned Frisk over towards the door and leaned into their ear. “Do not let any of the monsters know we’re humans.”

 

Frisk looked at her in surprise. She had said the puzzles were to capture humans, but why? She shook her head. “I’ll explain later. It’s not safe here. Let’s move on.” Frisk was suddenly unnerved. Becca said no more, and they moved on. Frisk hoped it wasn’t as dire as her tone of voice made it sound. Frisk wasn’t sure they wanted to meet monsters or to try these puzzles any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here is Becca!](http://tsukithewolf.tumblr.com/post/145786541056/becca-the-light-blue-soul-reference-for-my)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Becca quickly learns that Frisk prefers the more pacifist route. She admires that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these first couple of chapters are a little short. I just didn't want to write the play-by-play of everything that occurs in this first part of the Ruins. I promise it will get much more interesting from the next chapter! Until then, please enjoy and let me know what you think!

Becca glanced back behind her to make sure Frisk was really following before she turned the corner into the empty room. Much like the others, there were vines growing on the walls. She already knew that the lighter stones on the floor formed the pattern needed to get through the spikes in the other room, but she paused long enough to let Frisk look around so that they could guess too. Frisk turned slowly in the room, still looking as bedraggled from their fall as earlier, and then turned back to Becca when they were done, waiting for her to continue. She suspected they hadn’t noticed the floor. Didn’t matter. She could lead them through.

She heard a scuffle and her head immediately turned towards the noise, but she didn’t see anything. Her hackles were raised as Frisk walked over to join her, so she moved on into the short hallway separating the solution room to the puzzle spikes. She only had time to feel Frisk grab her shirt before she felt a battle initiate, her Soul being pulled from her chest along with Frisk’s as the battle formed.

A Froggit was attacking. Frisk’s Soul hovered nervously, startled to see a monster for the first time. Becca was calm and waited for her turn. She wondered what Frisk would do while she glared at the Froggit. It was really rude of it to interrupt their travel. Sometimes monsters really just liked to jump the gun on these things.

Frisk continued to hesitate, and Becca was about to tell them to do something before Mercy was triggered automatically, when the younger human said, “You look very nice today.”

The Froggit didn’t seem to understand what Frisk was saying at all, but it seemed flattered anyway. All intentions to fight seemed to leave it as it preened a little. Becca chose Mercy, and soon after so did Frisk. The Froggit bounded away cheerfully. Becca glared after it. It wasn’t often that monsters came this deep into the Ruins. There was no point. There was nothing down here for them.

Frisk touched the sleeve of Becca’s shirt and gazed at her hopefully. She could see the question in their face. Honestly all of this would be a lot easier if they had just remembered their first trip through. It was annoying having to explain all of the functions in the Underground and such. But she would be patient because she actually liked Frisk. And she would make sure that this time they were better prepared for what she guessed was their power.

“Good job.” She praised them and showed them to the spikes. Frisk froze at the sight and looked around for a switch of some sort. Becca couldn’t help but tease them. “Did you figure out the puzzle? I’m afraid I just don’t remember this one.”

Frisk shot her a confused, but not suspicious, look. Becca felt a little bad now. They were proving themselves to be insanely trustworthy. She was worried about Frisk. The younger human ran back into the other room to look around. Becca decided that this would be a good time to test the human. It would be good to see if Frisk was smart enough to solve the puzzles in the Underground. Becca wouldn’t always know the answers to all of them. Hopefully Frisk thought to read the sign between the rooms. It was quite obvious, but then again she had met dumber children here. She moved through the correct spots on the spikes until she made it to the other side, and then she waited for Frisk.

Frisk ran back into the room and gaped a little to see her on the other side. She waved at them. Frisk’s face fell, but then hardened with determination. They steeled themselves before taking the first step onto the correct platform of false spikes. Becca waited and watched as the human moved slowly but with some confidence to all of the correct platforms until they were even with Becca. She smiled at them in praise.

“You figured it out. Some would just take the water,” she motioned to the water on either side of the bridge of spike platforms, “but you could get sick that way. Anyway.” She pointed out the next room as they entered it. It was just an extremely long room without much point at all. There were pillars and more vines near the walls, but Becca never found a purpose for this room. “Past this hallway is where most of the monsters are. We’ll probably have to battle some of them, so keep your stick handy.” Frisk nodded.

Exiting the long hallway led them both into a room with leaves gathered in various places. Becca ignored the piles and eyed the Froggit that was instead chilling there. However, the Froggit didn’t seem to want to attack. Becca was about to move on, but Frisk stopped to chat with the Froggit instead, smiling at the monster. However, they didn’t seem to understand the creature. Becca remembered their own struggle with understanding some of the monsters and made attempt to translate.

“‘Hello human.’” She told Frisk. She startled at the greeting and almost confronted the monster, but it continued and so she had to continue as well, “‘I have some advice for you about battling monsters. If you Act a certain way or Fight until you almost defeat them, they might not want to battle you anymore. If the monster does not want to fight you, please. Use some Mercy, human.’ They already knew that.” Becca snapped at the Froggit. It flinched, gazing at her with wide eyes. Frisk grabbed Becca’s arm, but she shook them off.

“Why do you think they’re a human?” She demanded.

The Froggit ribbited nervously before responding, “Because they look like Their Majesty Chara when they were young.” So this was an older Froggit. Becca took a step back, horrified. That wasn’t good at all. She trusted that the monsters in the Ruins wouldn’t say anything to those outside of the Ruins, but how would monsters react to Frisk when they decided to leave the Ruins as well? She looked at Frisk, worried, before she nodded thanks to the Froggit. She grabbed Frisk’s hand and tugged them around the corner to a room that had nothing in it but an area to drink for those who were thirsty.

“Becca . . .” Frisk asked in their soft voice, “who is . . .?”

Becca shook her head, glaring at the water. “Later. I’ll explain later.” She promised. She had to explain it to all of the children, and Frisk would be no different. She had never suspected that Chara and Frisk would look anything alike. Most of the monsters couldn’t tell if the children were human, but maybe that was because a lot of them only had one frame of reference. Of course Frisk would have to be the weakest link. They would have to be careful.

Frisk eyed her, but again their squinted gaze held no judgement. Becca was starting to feel uncomfortable with all of this trust. She hadn’t felt this since the other human fell down. The kind one. Instead Frisk asked, “You can . . . understand the monsters?”

Becca gave them a somewhat sad smile. “I’ve been here a while. You pick up on things. Now come on.”

Frisk followed her back out, but they decided to go through the leaves rather than following the path. They smiled as they hopped in the pile playfully, and some of the worry they had been carrying in their face melted away. Becca waited patiently and watched them as they paused and came to some conclusion. Their face clouded over for a brief moment, and Becca felt that strange sensation of the world stuttering for just a moment before everything returned to normal as if it never was. She was certain that was Frisk’s power, the child forming a “SAVE”. Just more video game logic, Becca thought. She wondered how she would explain to Frisk their power when even she wasn’t too sure of how to voice her knowledge.

Frisk hurried over to rejoin her then as they moved into the next room. As they moved through the Ruins, Becca began to notice that Frisk would do that every now and again. They would stop and stare at something, and then they would form a SAVE. If it was anything like a video game, that meant if the child died at least they wouldn’t have to go through the whole spiel again. It would be nice if the human remembered when they died, though. She wondered if they had more powers.

Frisk didn’t like to Fight. They were confronted by a number of monsters, but Frisk always managed to Act in a certain way to get them to leave them both alone. Becca allowed Frisk to do what they wanted, instead choosing to sit back and watch them. She never fought, but she did heal Frisk with some of her few food items when they needed it. It was fascinating watching them take hits and not want to hurt the monster in response. Becca certainly had not been so kind, as terrified as she had been when she had first arrived. But she knew these monsters were not too bad, so she didn’t want to Fight.

It was only when they came across a monster that Becca had rarely seen did she get nervous. It was a ghost, laying on a bed of leaves. She shuddered a little. Could monsters be ghosts? Were all ghosts monsters? She didn’t like the idea. Frisk pointed at the monster while looking at Becca curiously. The girl hung back.

“Uh . . . I don’t know. Try talking to it?” She suggested. She hoped that a battle wouldn’t start. She didn’t want to fight a ghost. She wasn’t so sure she could hit it.

Frisk turned to the ghost and waved a hand in front of its face, completely fine with the fact that they were facing a ghost. “zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . .” The ghost said, “zzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . . ” The ghost was saying the letter ‘z’ repeatedly, as if pretending to be asleep. Becca made a face. Why were monsters so weird sometimes? The ghost mumbled something else, but she didn’t quite catch it. “zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . .”

Frisk looked back at Becca and motioned her over. She reluctantly rejoined them. “Help me move it?” They asked.

“I’m not sure we can touch it.” Becca muttered in response, but together they tried to move the monster. Instantly a battle started, pulling out both Frisk’s and Becca’s Souls. Becca instantly knew the name of the ghost. “Here comes Napstablook.” She warned Frisk. If she had to describe the ghost, she would have to say it looked kind of pathetic and pitiful. It gazed at them with a hopeless look in its eyes, as if it expected them to attack and hurt it. Becca gripped her toy knife, but didn’t pull it out yet. She wasn’t sure if she would need to. She waited to see what Frisk would do. The kid had some pretty good intuition.

Frisk thought for a moment before they said, “You look _boo_ -tiful today.”

Napstablook gave a chuckle and appeared a bit cheered up. Becca covered her mouth and tried not to giggle. Oh no, she would not laugh at these stupid jokes. But she needed to remember that one for later if she possibly saw her friend again. She was sure that one would earn quite a giggle.

Napstablook began to cry, and the large magical tears dropped close to both of their Souls. Frisk and Becca both dodged, although Frisk’s movement was much more loose than Becca’s was. She couldn’t move her Soul nearly as freely, but every now and again if she paused, the attack would go straight through her Soul and miss.

It was her turn now. Frisk waited to see if she would use Mercy, but Becca could sense the ghost wasn’t appeased. She decided to Act and gave the ghost a patient smile. Napstablook smiled just a tiny bit back, huffing another laugh. Becca prepared herself for another tearful shower, but some ghostly words appeared in front of them instead saying, “REALLY NOT FEELIN UP TO IT RIGHT NOW. SORRY.”

“Aw.” Frisk murmured, looking a little saddened. Becca wondered why this ghost was so sad? Who had hurt it? She felt bad just for even contemplating about how she would Fight it if she had to.

Napstablook did seem to be in a better mood overall, though. Becca was certain Frisk had really chosen the best path on their first shot this time. In retrospect it made sense to try to cheer up such a sad monster. Frisk decided to Cheer for the ghost again, but Napstablook hesitantly cut them off, wanting to show them something.

“let me try . . .” The ghost murmured before tears leaked from its eyes again. Becca only had just enough time to wonder how the hell the monster was breaking the battle system to attack when it wasn’t its turn when the tears floated upwards instead to coagulate into a watery top hat. “i call it ‘dapperblook’. do you like it . . .”

Frisk clapped and smiled at Becca, seeing that it was her turn. Becca gave a tiny smile at Napstablook as it eagerly awaited her response as well. She nodded. “It looks very dapper.” She agreed.

“oh gee . . .” Napstablook whispered as tears slipped from its eyes and the magic on Becca’s and Frisk’s Souls was released. Their colored vision returned to both of them. Napstablook returned to laying on the bed of leaves, apparently too overcome to even stand up. “i usually come to this part of the Ruins because there’s nobody around here . . . but today i met some nice people . . .”

Napstablook continued to gaze somewhat cheerfully at the ceiling. Frisk and Becca shared a look before Becca said, “Um, sorry, but we need to get past you . . .?”

“oh, i’m rambling again. i’ll get out of your way.” Napstablook faded away, making Becca’s skin jump uneasily. She didn’t like the thought of monsters being able to appear and disappear whenever they wanted to. Frisk appeared to be in a good mood though and pointed onwards. Becca huffed a laugh and followed the child. Really now, who was the leader here?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk receives a few answers and is still not convinced they're not in a video game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting these out fairly quickly. I wanna write more. Maybe I will. 
> 
> Thank you again to my beta joviamod!

Frisk decided that the Ruins was interesting and that monsters weren’t actually that bad. They weren’t quite sure what had decided it, but they suspected it mostly started with Whimsum. Monsters seemed to initiate battles almost automatically, but some of them didn’t even want to fight. Which was nice because Frisk certainly didn’t want to fight either. It was kind of nice trying to become friends with them, even though the monsters went on their merry way soon after the battle ended.

Becca was a patient teacher and seemed to be very smart. She knew all of the puzzle solutions to the Ruins’ puzzles, but she often let Frisk try to solve them through trial and error while she waited on the other side. It had ended up with Frisk being a little bumped and scraped up and them having to fight a few battles on their own. Becca had only gently tsked Frisk when they had returned to her at one point with low health after failing to understand what some of the vegetable monsters had wanted. She had given them a Spider Donut to heal themselves that she had purchased earlier from the Spider Bake Sale. Frisk was starting to suspect what they had drank earlier had been made of spiders, by spiders, for spiders.

Becca relaxed much more when they entered an area devoid of monsters. There was a hallway leading off in front of them to where Frisk could hear some bustle, but there was also a large tree in a different direction that had caught their attention. Becca motioned for Frisk to follow her silently as they passed into the hallway and out onto a balcony of some sort. Frisk felt their heart leap with shock as buildings seemed to extend farther than they could see. There was a whole community! Admittedly Frisk had wondered where all of the monsters lived, but this was much more than they had anticipated.

“This is Old Home.” Becca told Frisk quietly as she leaned on the railings of the balcony. She had a somber face on as Frisk moved to stand next to her. “There aren’t many monsters that live here now, but this used to be the capital of the Underground.” Frisk gave her a questioning look. She shook her head. “I don’t think anything bad happened, I just think they moved the capital city somewhere else. It’s called ‘New Home’” She snorted. “The king isn’t very good at naming places.”

“Do you . . . live here?” Frisk asked. She shook her head again.

“We passed where I live a while ago. But I do come here for food and such.” She looked down briefly before she looked at Frisk. “The monsters here know I’m human because I didn’t hide it when I first arrived here. They can’t recognize most humans on sight unless they’re the older generation.”

“Why?” Frisk frowned.

She shrugged, picking at the railing with her fingernail idly. “Dunno. I only have a guess. You’d have to ask someone who doesn’t live in the Ruins.” She paused. “I think I know someone who would know . . . but we don’t meet up often. Maybe when we leave the Ruins . . .”

“Leave?”

“Oh. Right, I have to tell you about that. Sorry.” She stood up and adjusted her skirt again. “Let’s go somewhere private.” She walked back the way they had come with a stiff purposeful stride. She went under the leafless tree, crunching over its red discarded leaves until she stopped in front of an old house. Frisk stared up at the large entrance wondering again who would need a doorway that high. Becca entered the door and left it a little ajar. Frisk didn’t go in just yet.

The house itself looked like it had not been lived in for quite some time. The tree seemed to be well taken care of, but Frisk didn’t know by who. For some reason they felt a little nostalgic. This was probably a home filled with much joy. The occupants probably moved out when the capital changed, if Frisk had to guess. The quaint house filled Frisk with determination, and they made another Save before they entered the building.

The inside of it was dusty and void of all furniture. It really did look like nobody had been there in so long. Becca seemed unconcerned as she walked a short way over to a door and pushed it open. It held fast before one more push in the right place shoved it open with a loud groan just wide enough for the two children to slip through. Inside the room was a single mattress and some clothing bundled into the corner. There was a small pile of carefully wrapped food as well. Becca motioned to the mattress.

“Are you tired? It’s been a long journey and I’m sure you’d like a break.” She asked.

A nap sounded perfect, now that Frisk thought about it. They pointed at her questioningly.

“I’ll just relax for a little bit. I can explain everything later, if you want. We’ll be safe here.” Frisk wasn’t so sure that they hadn’t been safe before. Admittedly the monsters had attacked them, but most were friendly. But Becca also looked tired and worried about something. Frisk had noticed that she seemed far too old for her age. There must be something wrong.

They dropped their stick on the ground and grabbed Becca’s hand to lead her over to the mattress before they fell back onto it, dragging her with them. She yelped as they hit the bed, and Frisk giggled a bit. Becca glared at them, huffing, before she sat up. “No, Frisk, you should sleep here!”

“Both.” Frisk recommended. They knew they were a small kid for their age. They could easily squeeze onto one side of the bed and she could sleep on the other. They laid down and pressed themselves to the far side before they patted the mattress invitingly, staring at her. Becca made a face and stared at the open door before she sighed and gave in, falling down to lay next to Frisk.

“Fine, I’ll sleep too. But don’t expect this to be a thing. I don’t sleep with others.” Frisk nodded in understanding and closed their eyes. They hadn’t realized how tired they must have actually been because they ended up quickly falling asleep.

* * *

  
They awoke some time later unsure of how long they had slept and almost certain everything had been a dream. However visual proof of this room not, in fact, being their bedroom proved that it wasn’t. Becca wasn’t next to Frisk any longer. The human sat up and climbed off of the bed. Where had the girl gone? It didn’t look like anything was particularly out of place. Frisk was hungry and wanted some real food that wasn’t made of spiders. They doubted they would find any here.

Becca was sure to be around here somewhere, so they picked up their stick and slipped past the door to reenter the hallway. They followed it, noting the stairs leading downward, before they continued forward. They must be in the old living room, because there was a fire place there. Becca sat in front of the crackling hearth, poking at the clump of burning sticks there with another stick. Her hair was a little messier than earlier and she appeared calmer. Frisk hoped she had managed to sleep.

She looked up immediately upon their entrance. Frisk joined her by the fire, basking in the warmth that fought off the chill in the air. It was darker in the house now. The sunlight that had been bathing the tree outside was fainter. Either the sun had moved away from the place to feed the tree, or it was late. Frisk couldn’t tell.

“Sleep well?” She asked. Frisk shrugged and nodded, ignoring the ache in their neck. They were starting to get used to being in pain a lot. They hoped they may be able to find real food and a real bed soon. “Yeah, I get it.” She grinned sympathetically. “You get used to it after a while.”

Frisk stared at her, waiting. They could tell she was going to begin soon.

She sighed as she began, “I’ve been down here the longest of the children I’ve met. There were six of us, now seven if you include yourself. I led them all through the Ruins and told them what to expect. Hopefully you’re the last one I have to tell this to.” She paused and swallowed, picking up a glass of water from beside her that Frisk hadn’t seen. She took a sip. “Humans fall into the Underground for many reasons, but a lot of them don’t survive the Underground. It can be because they were killed, or died in the fall, or something else, but the mortality rate is fairly high. Monsters aren’t even immune to it, although from what I’ve heard they’ve gotten better about being prepared. But . . . that’s only for the Ruins. I don’t know much for outside of it. I’ve lived here this entire time.”

“Why?” Frisk asked. They couldn’t imagine staying in such a place. Didn’t she want to leave the Underground at all? How big _was_ the Underground?

“Because I knew that other children would fall into the Underground after me. My power warned me. And I needed to warn them about what they would face.” Frisk stared at her harder, completely baffled. She gave a soft laugh. “Right. A lot to explain. I’ll start with the powers.” She poked Frisk’s chest. “Your Soul has a color, right? From what I can gleam from my own power, each Soul color has a special magic to it. Think of it like a defense for humans who can’t do magic. I think it only started to work once you enter the Underground because there’s so much magic down here.” She held her hands to her chest. “My Soul is light blue. I have this thing that I call precognition. I know things before they happen. I knew others would fall after me that needed my help. I knew I needed to wait in the Ruins for them. I knew every Soul has a power, although I had to figure out what it was. And I knew you were coming, Frisk.”

“Wow.” Frisk breathed. They wondered what their power was. Wait, she had mentioned meeting them before. Was that part of her power? They asked her.

“No, we really have met before . . . although my power did remind me of that.” She paused and stared hard at the ground. “I wasn’t as careful with you before. You don’t have any EXP, so your health is kind of low. And you died because of it.” Frisk blinked. She looked at them. “When you died, your power activated to bring you back to the beginning because you didn’t have any things called . . . “SAVES”?” She didn’t sound sure of the SAVES.

Frisk nodded. “I made . . . a couple. Although I didn’t know what they were.” They admitted slowly.

“I thought so. It’s okay because I don’t really get it either. But if you die, I think you get sent back to your last SAVE.” She paused and then added with a grumble, “Like a video game.”

Frisk laughed. It didn’t seem all that believable, but then again there were stranger things happening that day. So Frisk decided to believe her. Besides, they could sense their SAVE file hovering on the edge of their perception.

“What about . . . the others?” They asked.

Becca stared into the fire for a moment, mouthing the rim of her cup, before she explained, “I don’t know all of theirs. We figured out a couple together, but most I didn’t. If they’re still alive out there somewhere in the Underground −which I think they are− then they probably figured it out by now.” So there were other children possibly out there living in the Underground despite whatever warning Becca had given them.

“Warning?” Frisk prompted.

“ . . . There’s a royal family in the Underground. The Dreemurrs. The king and queen are kind enough and all of the monsters love them. I don’t know them personally, so I don’t have an opinion. They can’t be all bad if they keep the monsters content and not angry about being stuck down here.” That was a good point. Why _were_ the monsters stuck down there? “They have a son named Asriel and . . . an adopted human named Chara.”

“Human?” They asked, shocked.

Becca nodded, glaring at the flames. “They’re old by now. Probably in their fifties, if I’ve got my timeline straight. They rule beside Asriel now that the king and queen retired a little while back.” Her fist clenched and unclenched, and she quickly put aside the water with a thump. The glass tipped a little too far and almost spilled over. Frisk quickly righted it. “The new rulers made a decree that any humans found were to be brought to the capital. The monsters, simple and kind and dumb as they are, gladly did so. But the rulers will kill any humans that get captured.”

Frisk shivered at the hatred in her voice. “Why?” They meekly asked.

“I don’t know. Not for sure, anyway. But my Soul has at least grasped that it’s related to keeping the monsters in the Underground. I don’t know if they’re trying to keep the monsters down here, or free them though.” Becca turned her gaze on Frisk, her eyes a forest fire. “The monsters don’t all recognize a human on sight because most of the monsters living in the Underground have never met a human. Or, at least, haven’t realized it if they have. But the older generation remembers what Chara looked like when they were younger. And according to that Froggit, you look a lot like them. Which means you’re likely to be recognized as a human.”

That didn’t sound good at all. Frisk considered trying to find a disguise.

“Knowing all of this, though,” Becca continued, “the other kids still went further into the Underground in an effort to return to the surface. I don’t know how many survived, but I’ve got a feeling at least a couple are still alive. At least according to my sources. I guess I’ll find out soon enough.” She grabbed her water and stood up, finishing it off before tossing it into the hearth. The glass shattered loudly, making Frisk jump. Becca turned then and motioned for them to follow after her. “Any more questions before we move on?” She asked as they turned to the staircase in the house and descended down it. They entered some type of basement.

“Why are the monsters . . . down here?” Frisk asked, following her brisk pace as quickly as possible.

“Don’t know. There’s some kind of story, but I didn’t really care enough to listen to it. We can probably find out later.”

“Where are we going?” It was an extremely long route of absolute nothingness. The hall only went in one direction, but it became darker the further in they went. There was another large door at the end, cracked open. Becca and Frisk worked together to push it open further before entering it. The room beyond it was completely black except for a single light shining through the ceiling onto another small hill of grass. Becca disregarded the grass completely and stopped before a final doorway. It was black there. She looked at Frisk.

“Beyond this door is the rest of the Underground. I don’t know what we’ll come across.” There wasn’t a single note of fear in her voice as she stood with her back straight and her eyes cold. The temperature was lower in this room and even chillier next to the door. It would be freezing out there, Frisk realized. “Do you want to go? We can wait if you want to until you’re ready.” She smiled slightly. “But you want to leave, don’t you?”

Frisk wasn’t sure what they wanted. They wanted to keep going, but they didn’t have a goal in mind. They weren’t sure they wanted to return to the surface, but they didn’t want to stay in the Ruins. They would rather go out into the Underground. Maybe they could try to find the other children, or find out what had happened to them. Maybe Frisk could find out the history of the monsters and why they were down there. Frisk wasn’t sure how the monsters would be out in the Underground, but they were willing to take the risk.

They gripped their stick tighter and nodded, filled with determination. Becca nodded back and together they pushed open the final door in the Ruins to enter the cold world that was the rest of the Underground.


	4. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An interlude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered whether or not I wanted to add this, and decided the story needed it. :D

Their bones ached more these days. Chara placed a hand over the glass and stared down at the flowers growing in the throne room. Their throne sat boldly next to Asriel’s despite the monster’s being taller than theirs. Chara could just make out the indent in the seating from their behind. The leather was aging. They would need replace the seating soon. 

“Chara?” The human sensed their best friend before the monster had entered the room. He hurried over to the elder human and threw his arms over Chara’s shoulders, leaning his chin on their head as he groaned. “There you are. You left me to the meeting alone.” Asriel whined.

Chara smiled. “You handled it fine.”

“You know I hate to do them alone, though!” Asriel was sulking, Chara could tell. They didn’t need to see his face to picture the puffed out cheeks. It seemed some things never changed with him.

“You will have to learn to do it eventually.” 

Asriel stiffened, his arms automatically crossing over Chara’s chest as if he could keep them there just by his will alone. His body was warm against Chara’s back and a familiar scent just above the smell of the golden flowers that decorated the throne room. Asriel pressed his face to Chara’s hair. “Don’t talk like that, Chara.” He murmured.

“It is the truth.” Chara petted Asriel’s hands. “I will die long before you will.”

“Still.”

Chara decided it best to change the topic. They had come into this room for a reason, after all. “I believe,” they confessed, “that a human has fallen into the Underground.”

“What?” Asriel gasped and spun Chara around to face him. Chara had to lift their head to meet his worried gaze. “How can you tell? A-Are you sure?”

Chara smiled. “I am sure. And they have a red Soul like mine. Time jumped earlier today. I had only recently noticed.” 

Asriel frowned, considering the repercussions of two humans being able to control time. Chara hadn’t thought it was possible. It seemed like far too strong of an ability. Asriel seemed to understand this. “But . . . how are they more determined than you? When you have such a hefty goal?”

Chara shook their head. “They are not as powerful. But it seems I have lost my ability to RESET in compensate for their appearance. That is how I know they are here.”

“Can you . . . sense where they are?” His voice was small. Chara pretended they didn’t hear the hope in his voice. It wasn’t hope for accomplishing their goal, after all. What a soft-hearted little fool. Chara loved him dearly.

“No.” Asriel didn’t respond. He stared at the glass container Chara’s hand had moved back to rest on. “I will alert the guards to be better prepared. We cannot allow this opportunity to slip through our hands.” They turned back to Asriel and walked past him, brushing their hand against his. “I will not be around forever to do the dirty work for you, Asriel.”

The door closed with a quiet thump as Asriel stared at the Soul floating in the glass container. His chest felt like it was constricting with his dread. “Yeah,” he whispered, “I know.”


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk makes some new friends. Also they're not over the convenience of that lamp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting with this chapter, I will be writing my usual minimum of 3000 words per chapter!  
> Thank you to my beta joviamod and Nurse Joy for putting up with me!

The cold air ripped through Frisk’s sweater with an ease that made them shudder violently. Becca’s teeth chattered as they finally got the door open and they slipped past it to close it. The door thudded to a close with a finality. Frisk was almost certain they would not be going back there. They wrapped their arms around themselves and turned to face their new environment. They were in a forest with black tree trunks extending as far as they could see. There was a path worn into the snow that didn’t look like it had seen any fresh snowfall in a while. Frisk kneeled down and scooped some of the snow up before they allowed it to slip through their fingers back to the ground.

“I . . . I knew it was cold but . . . I didn’t think there was snow.” Becca confessed, her face pale as she looked around the scenery. “I haven’t seen snow in so long.”

Frisk was still wondering how it was possible. A gust blew past the trees, making Frisk shiver and curl into themselves again. They looked at Becca, who seemed to be faring a bit better. Frisk wasn’t doing as well in their shorts, but at least their boots were tall enough to block the snow. Becca snapped out of her marveling to look at her companion.

“Oh, crap. We should hurry and try to find shelter.” She looked Frisk up and down before she started walking. Frisk joined her side. The path had made the snow low enough for the both of them so they didn’t have to trudge. Frisk looked at the ground. There were footprints in the snow. Becca seemed to be on high alert, her body stiff. She kept her hand on her knife at her waist as she stepped over a large branch in the path. Frisk paused to look at it. It was too large to carry. They liked their stick just fine.

“Hurry.” Becca ushered them along. “You don’t want to freeze, do you?” Frisk hurried after her. Both children lept out of their skin when a crack issued through the area. Becca’s knife was out of its holster instantly, glaring at the now-broken branch. Frisk noticed that the knife was only a toy. That didn’t seem very useful for fighting monsters, but Frisk supposed their stick wasn’t much better.

“Who’s there?” The girl called out. Nothing responded. They continued to hesitate for a few moments longer before Frisk took a step backwards. Nothing jumped at them. Perhaps it had been a coincidence? They doubted it, but they weren’t sure they wanted to wait around and see what could be fast enough to break that branch and disappear. They tugged carefully on Becca’s sleeve before they started off again. The girl gritted her teeth before she joined them.

Frisk could tell her hackles were still raised. Which was good, because anxiety began to creep into Frisk’s heart. Neither human knew what was out there with them, and Frisk worried it was something less-than-friendly. They stiffened when they thought they saw a shadow pass through the trees. Becca hissed a little under her breath. Okay, maybe Frisk hadn’t imagined it.

There was a bridge ahead with strange wooden pillars on it that crossed over a small gorge. Frisk hurried towards it, but Becca quickly grabbed them back. “No!” She hissed. “Wait, just . . .” She looked around, face confused but no longer scared. Frisk opened their mouth to ask what was wrong when they realized they could hear footsteps crunching through the snow. Both children tensed as the footsteps got closer. Frisk’s heart raced in their chest, too scared to turn around. Becca continued to hold their arm, preparing herself.

The footsteps came to a stop behind them and a slow, deep voice rumbled out, “Humans. Don’t you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hands.” Frisk gulped and shared a look with Becca. Becca gave a small nod, and the two slowly turned around. Frisk didn’t even look at the owner right away as they grabbed the hand offered to them.

Twin farts ripped from the grips of the humans, long and high-pitched. It petered out with small poots. Becca barked an unexpected laugh, making Frisk jump a little as even their “new pal” began to laugh. Their hand was released as Frisk took in the form of their companion. It was a skeleton in a heavy blue jacket and some snow pants. He had some boots on, but they were unzipped and unlaced and appeared to barely be on his feet. He grinned at them widely, but Frisk didn’t think he couldn’t _not_ grin. His sockets had two white lights in them, almost like pupils.

“hehehehehe, two in one go. that’s gotta be a record.” The skeleton said. His voice wasn’t as deep as it had been previously, but it was still pretty low. He had a bit of a drawl to it as he talked, almost like talking was too much of an effort and halfway through each word he would’ve chosen to stop if he could’ve before he said the next word. “anyway, you two are humans, right? that’s hilarious.”

Frisk tilted their head, wondering how that was funny. And about how this monster had immediately known they were humans. Becca, next to Frisk, was covering her mouth in an attempt to smother the last of her laughter from the joke. The skeleton shot her an amused look.

“the name’s sans. sans the skeleton.”

“Oh!” Becca dropped her hand, her humor gone. There was understanding on her face. “Sans! I didn’t think we would meet you right away. I didn’t think you were a skeleton either. I should’ve guessed from the jokes.”

“oh hey, i recognize that voice. how’s it goin’, pal?” He appeared honestly delighted to meet the other human. “what’re you doin’ out of the ruins?”

“It was time to leave. And I thought I would go with my friend.” Becca’s entire body was relaxed. Frisk was sure this was a monster they could trust if even Becca seemed content in his presence. “My name is Becca, by the way.”

“nice to meet ‘cha. who’re you, kiddo?” Sans turned to Frisk.

“Frisk.” They introduced themselves with a small smile. They gave Becca a curious look wondering how she knew the skeleton when she had never left the Ruins. Becca didn’t get the chance to explain, however, as Sans continued,

“it’s not exactly safe to be wanderin’ ‘round out here. see, i’m not up for huntin’ any humans, but my brother, papyrus? he’s a human-hunting FANATIC. hey, actually, i think that’s him over there.” Sans nodded past them. The humans turned to look. Frisk saw someone approaching quickly. “i have an idea. go through this gate thingy.” At Frisk’s confused look he added, “yeah, go right through. my brother made the bars too wide to stop anyone.” The three of them passed over the bridge and through the gate effortlessly. “quick, behind that conveniently shaped lamp.”

“Super convenient.” Becca commented dryly as she dragged Frisk over to the strangest looking lamp that Frisk had ever seen. It had two heads on it, one taller than the other, and looked to be perfectly-shaped to hide both humans easily. Frisk wondered why it was there as the two of them ducked behind the lamp. A new skeleton monster burst into the scene right then.

He was a tall skeleton dressed in red, white, and blue armor and what appeared to be a black body suit underneath. His boots were about half of Frisk’s height. He came to a stop in front of Sans and cried, “THERE YOU ARE!” Frisk winced a bit at his loud voice.

“sup, bro?” Sans asked, shoving his hands into his coat pockets casually.

“I’LL TELL YOU WHAT IS ‘SUP’, BROTHER! IT’S BEEN TWO HOURS AND YOUR PHONE HAS BEEN RINGING OFF THE HOOK!! YOUR WORK HAS BEEN CALLING WHILE YOU’VE BEEN OFF BONEDOGGLING! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING THIS FAR FROM HOME?” Papyrus scolded. It seemed like he was either extremely upset, or Papyrus didn’t have an inside voice. Frisk made a face over how loud he was.

“staring at this lamp. it’s really cool. do you wanna look?” Sans asked, amusement lacing his voice. Beside Frisk, Becca cursed under her breath. From the angle the taller skeleton was standing, he could probably easily see them. Frisk made sure to stay still.

“NO!! I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!!” Papyrus raged, stomping his foot in frustration. “WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?! I WANT TO BE READY!!! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN! THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS,” the skeleton posed proudly, his cape waving in an imaginary breeze, “WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT . . . RECOGNITION . . . I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, ‘FRIEND?’. I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING.” Becca made a face at the end of his speech. Frisk thought the skeleton was kind of silly.

Sans hummed in understanding before he side-glanced at the lamp again, looking even more amused. “maybe this lamp will help you.”

Papyrus completely ignored Sans’s game and began to stomp his foot again. “SANS!! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!! YOU LAZYBONES!! WHY DON’T YOU GO BACK AND ANSWER YOUR PHONE ALREADY INSTEAD OF SITTING AROUND BEING LAZY?!?”

“hey, take it easy. i’ve gotten a **ton** of work done today. a skele- _ton_.” He winked.

Becca’s hands shot to her mouth again as she tried to muffle her giggles. Even Frisk began to grin, finally understanding. This skeleton loved jokes, and Becca appeared to be quite the sucker for bad puns. Frisk thought she appeared much younger when she giggled like that.

“SANS!!!” Papyrus cried, outraged.

“come on.” Sans coaxed, grinning. “you’re smiling.”

“I AM AND I HATE IT!” Papyrus freely admitted. Frisk wondered how a person could tell the difference between a skeleton smiling and their default face. Papyrus sighed, his anger leaving him as quickly as it had arrived. “WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION . . .”

“wow,” Sans commented, not sounding the least sympathetic, “sounds like you’re really working yourself down to the _bone_.” He winked again. Becca’s laughed harder and covered her mouth with the crook of her elbow. Frisk bit their lip to stop their own giggles.

Papyrus groaned. “I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES . . . AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE BACKBONE INTO IT!!!!” This time the children’s laughter was covered up by Papyrus’s own laugh as he ran off, only pausing one more time to let out a final embarrassed laugh as he realized he had stooped to his brother’s level.

The children spent a few minutes gathering themselves. Becca hunched over, almost in tears, and her laughter only made Frisk laugh harder. Sans walked over to the lamp and leaned between them. “ok, you two can come out now.”

Becca swatted at him, and he dodged back. “You _knew_ I was going to laugh, Sans!” She accused as he chuckled.

“can’t help that you love dumb jokes just like me.” He said. “anyway, you two’d oughta get going. he may come back. and if he does . . . you’ll have to sit through some more of my hilarious jokes.”

“You aren’t coming with us?” Becca asked. “You have to go the same way, right?”

Sans shrugged. “i’ll catch up with you two later. there’s a town not too far from here called snowdin. s’where me and papyrus live. if you two make it there without being captured, you can stay with us.”

“Thank you.” Frisk said.

“Wait, answer a couple of questions first!” Becca pressed, clearly eager to learn more.

“what’s the holdup?” Sans nodded behind them. “there’s nothing to be afraid of.” He winked. “it’s just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters.”

“Sans!” Becca complained.

“hurry up, kiddos. we’ll see each other again. then you can interrogate me a bit more. meanwhile, i’ve got some stuff to do and i’m already late for it.” Sans turned to shuffle off, and then paused, “actually, i’ve been thinking . . . my brother’s been kind of down lately . . . see, he’s still real young and the guard doesn’t take him seriously . . . and that’s really eatin’ at him. he doesn’t really know what a human looks like, and seeing two of you might just make his day.”

“We’re trying _not_ to get captured, thanks.” Becca snarked, crossing her arms.

Sans just smiled. “don’t worry, he’s not dangerous. even if he tries to be.” This seemed to humor the skeleton a lot.

Becca looked about ready to protest again, but Frisk nodded for the both of them. She shot a glare at Frisk, but Frisk rather liked both of the skeletons. They didn’t think that Sans would try to purposely get them captured, and Papyrus seemed nice enough. They wondered if they could make friends with any of the monsters. They were curious. Sans gave Frisk an appreciative look. The human had a feeling they had just succeeded in gaining an ally.

“thanks a million. i’ll be up ahead.” Sans turned to walk away again, but he stopped a third time as he seemed to realize something, “oh, and be on the lookout. that kid sandro likes to _chill_ around this area. thanks again.” He walked off and disappeared into the trees. Frisk wondered what kind of business he had in there. Becca made an annoyed noise.

“He’s always like that!” She huffed before spinning on her heel to storm off towards where Papyrus had gone. “Why did you agree to that? Sans is a prankster. He could be trying to trick us!”

“He’s your friend.” Frisk responded simply. There was a box up ahead with a sign next to it. Becca went over to go check it out, not responding to Frisk’s statement. Frisk took it as silent agreement as they gazed back the way they had come. The convenience of that lamp still filled them with determination, certain that things would work out in their favor from there on out. They made a SAVE while they could before they joined Becca.

“It’s a box.” She said, reaching into the box. Frisk read the sign next to it to learn that a box lover claimed any item in the box would appear in a later box. That sounded useful. Frisk’s pockets were getting a little full. Becca almost fell into the large box, but she righted herself and pulled out an item. It was a thick pink leather glove. It looked tough, but a little careworn. Becca sighed. “Well this is a nice glove, but there’s no second one.” She handed the glove to Frisk, who shoved it into their pocket.

“How do you know Sans?” Frisk asked as they followed the bootsteps on the ground leading further into the Underground. Becca checked their surroundings as she followed them. They could both hear talking and noises not far from there. It seemed they were getting close to the populated area like Papyrus had hinted at.

“He . . .” Becca considered how to respond to that. “He likes to practice knock knock jokes on the door to the Ruins . . . and when I was younger, I heard his jokes and . . . they comforted me.” Her voice was quiet with her memories. “Obviously he has a brother who seems even younger than him, and I don’t think he’s much older than me . . . but I think he could tell I was scared. Maybe it was some kind of instinct. And we told each other jokes . . . and it kind of became a trend to get me through the lonelier days.”

Frisk didn’t respond. How long had the girl been down there in the Underground? In the Ruins? She had met other humans, obviously, but she had made herself wait alone for who-knew-how-long until Frisk had arrived. They didn’t yet have to courage to ask her about her story.

They stumbled as their foot hit a rock and sent them sprawling. That seemed to bring Becca out of her mood as she helped the child back to their feet. Her voice was a bit stronger as she continued when they were both walking again, “If anyone knows what happened to the other children, it’s him. At least Sandro is still alive.” Frisk gave her a surprised look. So Sandro was another human!

Becca pulled to a stop suddenly, stiffening, and Frisk stopped too when they saw the brothers standing a little ways away talking to each other. It was easier to see the height difference with the both of them together, and Frisk finally noticed just how young both of the brothers looked. Papyrus had a gangliness about him that Frisk had come to associate with older teenagers that were either just past their majority, or were about to reach it. Sans held himself only a little more securely, without the gangliness.

“SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE,” Papyrus was saying, before he noticed the two humans. He gaped and turned to his brother, who turned to the humans. Sans playfully mocked his brother’s shock, turning back to Papyrus, who turned back to the humans. The brothers repeated looking back and forth, getting faster and faster until they were literally spinning in circles, before they stopped suddenly, facing the humans. Papyrus grabbed his brother and leaned in close as they turned their backs again on the kids. “SANS!!” The taller skeleton cried with excitement, “OH MY GOD!! ARE THOSE . . . HUMANS!?!?!???!?!?!!” They turned back around to check again.

Becca and Frisk shared a look. “uhhhhh . . .” Sans drawled, trying to hide his shit-eating grin as he said, “actually, i think those are rocks.” Frisk glanced behind them at the rocks that had tripped them.

“OH.” Papyrus said, clearly disappointed and no longer caring.

Sans quickly asked, “hey, what’re those things in front of the rocks?” Papyrus spun around again to look, excitement back in his face.

“OH MY GOD!!!” He whispered to his brother loud enough that the humans could easily hear him, “ARE . . . ARE THOSE HUMANS? TWO OF THEM? RIGHT THERE??”

“yes.” Sans whispered back.

“OH MY GOD!!” Papyrus screamed again, more excited than any one person had a right to be. His voice cracked just slightly. “SANS!! I FINALLY DID IT!! UNDYNE WILL . . . I’M GONNA . . . I’LL BE SO . . . POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!!” He jumped up and down and pumped his fist once. Frisk grinned at the sight, looking at Becca. She rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile on her lips as well.

Papyrus quickly calmed down as he realized the scene he was making. He cleared his throat and deepened his voice slightly to say, “HUMANS! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!!! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN . . . THEN!!!” Papyrus paused. “I’M NOT SURE WHAT’S NEXT.” He admitted. Becca frowned, her mood darkening a little at the mention of the capital. “IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE . . . ONLY IF YOU DARE!!!” He laughed cheerfully as he ran off again.

“well,” Sans said, clearly pleased, “that went well.”

“He sounds really serious about trying to catch us.” Becca pointed out, displeased.

“don’t sweat it, kid.” Sans winked. “i’ll keep an eyesocket out for ya, just like i did with all of the other kids.” He turned and left then, not giving the humans a chance to talk anymore with him. He disappeared before the humans could catch up. Becca scrubbed at her face while Frisk rubbed their hands together to warm them.

“He’s gonna piss me off real fast, I can tell.”

“I like him.” Frisk decided. Becca shot them a disgruntled, but amused look.

“You would.” She decided. “Now come on, let’s see if we can maybe find Sandro. If we’re going to escape the Underground, we might as well see if we can get as many humans out as possible.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things will continue to get more exciting, although much of the dialog will be the same in certain places!


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk learns that they need to learn how to dodge more. If they didn't, it would be fatal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally things are starting to pick up.
> 
> It wouldn't be MY kind of story without some angst. Truly a Wolfie Classic.
> 
> Thank you for my beta for help with the writing and the Spanish!

Frisk noticed there was some kind of cardboard building off the side of the road and pointed it out to Becca. They could easily read the sign from there declaring it to be a masterpiece made by the not-yet-a-very-famous-royal-guardsman. Frisk found themselves grinning at the sight of it, just imagining Papyrus trying to build a sentry station himself. Becca frowned, however.

“They really _don’t_ take him seriously.” She murmured. Frisk gave her a questioning look. She tapped her knuckles against the cardboard. “If they did, they would’ve given him an actual sentry station. Poor guy.”

Frisk wasn’t as cheerful anymore. They crossed their arms over their chest to retain more of their body heat and shivered. Well, they would gladly try their best to cheer Papyrus up if that was the case. He was a young skeleton, but Frisk wanted to keep him happy. He seemed like a cheerful fellow. It would be nice if Frisk could actually just chat with him, though. He took over most of the conversations and didn’t even give the humans a chance to talk before he was off again.

Sans had been right about there being more monsters around now. Frisk and Becca had to battle two strange new monsters together before they could even move into the next area. One was a strange bird that (as Frisk quickly discovered) liked bad ice puns. The Snowdrake left the battle ecstatic at his eager audience as Becca couldn’t stop her giggles at the jokes. Her cheeks were bright red after the battle.

“Don’t give me that look!” She snapped, ducking her head so Frisk couldn’t see past her curly hair. Frisk bit their lip to stop their smile. She could be so cute, they decided.

The other monster was the strangest being Frisk had met yet. The entirety of their focus had been on the Icecap’s ice cap. It was amazing! Frisk could just imagine wearing it on their own head. The Icecap preened at the attention and kept attacking. Becca, in her frustration over the situation and tired of being stabbed by falling ice, had attempted to steal the hat. Icecap dodged and glared at them suspiciously.

“This is getting us nowhere!” Becca cried as she grabbed for her knife. Frisk stiffened in alarm and shook their head at her. They didn’t want any fighting. They had one more idea they could try before they risked beating the monster into submission (which Frisk _really_ hoped they wouldn’t have to do). When their turn came around again, Frisk tore their eyes away from the astounding sight of Icecap’s hat. The battle paused briefly as Icecap tried to maneuver itself back into Frisk’s line of sight. Frisk continued to ignore it.

“Hey!! My hat is up here!!” Icecap cried, attacking more angrily. Frisk cringed as their health dropped again. They really needed some healing, but when Becca looked about ready to hand over their last bit of food, Frisk shook their head. Becca followed after Frisk and ignored the Icecap’s wondrous hat. Disappointed and no longer receiving attention, the Icecap decided to leave. The Souls of the children returned to their body, leaving Frisk to acknowledge all of their wounds.

The younger human stared at their battered body. Their legs were becoming bruised and their face was chilled from the cold. They wouldn’t mind a nice drink to wash down all of this food they’d had to consume. Their healing items were practically gone because of Frisk. Becca hadn’t really needed any at all. She seemed to be able to take more attacks than Frisk. Was that because she was older?

“Look out!!” The girl screamed, and Frisk only heard a large crack. They looked up to see a large tree branch falling towards them, but they didn’t have enough time to move. They only registered the pain hitting their head before it all went black.

* * *

_Not yet. I don’t want to die yet. There’s so much I need to do._

##### [LOAD]

Their Soul shattered.

* * *

Frisk blinked their eyes open. Their body was no longer in any pain at all. They looked up. There was no tree branch falling towards them. Becca was over by the box again, reading the sign. Frisk recognized this entire area. This is where they had last formed their Save.

Their stomach dropped out. They had died. The darkness that had surrounded them still seemed to seep into their skin despite it not being there. They had felt their skull indent right before it had all gone black. Becca’s scream still echoed in their ears. They put their face in their hands. They had died.

On the bright side, they mused to themselves, at least they now knew that Frisk really could go back in time to their last Save. That was useful information to know. At least if they died they knew it wasn’t permanent. At least, not when Frisk didn’t want to stay dead. They shivered again. As they had thought, dying wasn’t fun. Disappearing was easier, but now Frisk knew what it really felt like. They had disappeared _and_ died. They didn’t want to die again.

They had died twice in the Underground.

Becca didn’t seem to notice anything as she repeated her words about the box. Frisk decided not to bring it up. They didn’t want the girl to be upset about Frisk dying a second time on her watch. They had a feeling she would just blame herself when in actuality she had tried to save them.

Frisk gladly went along with meeting Papyrus again and his discovery of the humans . . . but they noticed right away the dialogue was different. Papyrus recognized them, but couldn’t really explain it. Becca was just as baffled as he was. Sans shot them both a look, but Papyrus powered through to continue his speech anyway. Frisk didn’t say anything.

“That was . . . weird.” Becca murmured to Frisk after the brothers had left. She glanced at Frisk. “How could he possibly know us?”

Frisk licked their chapping lips. “My power . . .” They murmured, unsure, “works. But it looks like the last timeline . . . doesn’t completely erase memories?”

Becca gaped at them. “You used your power? Did you die?” Frisk nodded. “How?”

“I didn’t . . . dodge quick enough.”

“You need to get better at dodging!” Becca scolded. Frisk could tell that she was just scared for them. They may have the power to come back to life, but that didn’t mean they should allow themselves to get used to dying. “Or build you EXP!” She handed over the last food item quickly. Frisk reluctantly ate the small piece of candy. It healed them up a little more than halfway.

“What?” Frisk asked, confused. They had heard her use that term before, but they didn’t understand what it was outside of a video game. Unless she was still using video game terms.

Becca frowned at Frisk seriously, and then dragged them off to the side of the road. She leaned in close to the other human so only they could hear her. “There’s this . . . thing called EXP and LV. I know, more video game crap. When you . . . defeat a monster . . . _properly_ defeat one . . . you gain EXP. And the more EXP you gain, the higher your LV. And your health and attack increases.”

Frisk felt a chill run down their spine in understanding. They stared at her. Becca kept her face stern and serious, but Frisk understood she was not at LV1 like Frisk was. They were thankful that she was willing to find another option with Frisk around. Frisk couldn’t imagine killing any of the monsters. They didn’t want to imagine it.

“Experience and Level?” They asked quietly.

“Probably.” Becca admitted. “I’ve only heard the acronyms used before.” Why would monsters even have acronyms like that? It was hard to imagine the scenarios needed for them to consider something “experience” if they killed a fellow monster. Frisk decided that they would rather stay at low health and at LV1 than to gain any EXP.

The two of them again faced off against a Snowdrake and an Icecap. This time Frisk anticipated the attacks better and resolved the fights much faster. Becca seemed to appreciate it. Frisk walked slowly and waited for the inevitable. When Becca cried out for them to look out, they dodged quickly out of the way. A branch that was the size of them slammed to the ground, shaking both of the humans up. Frisk wasn’t surprised that they had been killed by that thing. It probably weighed more than them.

“I t-told you the Underground is hazardous!” Becca helped Frisk to their feet and hugged them to her. Frisk stared in confusion. “That’s where you died.” She whispered, her voice trembling. “I saw it.”

Frisk was silent as they touched her arm. “Your power?” They asked quietly. She nodded against their shoulder. They were both shaking now, but Frisk couldn’t tell if it was from emotions, fear, or the cold. They were unsure of what to do with the hug, not used to being hugged at all. Eventually they hesitantly hugged her back before they pulled away.

“I’m okay.” They told her. She nodded, but her face showed she was still making the effort to contain herself. They waited for her to do so before they continued on. They would need to be much more careful now.

The next area had another sentry station. The humans glanced at each other curiously. This one was a proper sentry station made of wood. It had a little face of a dog near the top of it. Becca stopped to read the sign aloud for both of them considering it was in that strange monster language again. Frisk would need to learn how to read these signs soon. “‘Absolutely NO MOVING!!!!’. That doesn’t sound very good.” She rejoined Frisk and grabbed their hand. “Let’s be careful.” Frisk nodded as they slowly moved forward, but the moment they passed in front of the sentry station another monster appeared.

It was a dog! It was standing on two legs with a dog treat in its mouth. Frisk thought it looked like it was wearing a black mask because of its fur markings. It glared around, eyes shifty. It didn’t seem to notice the two children frozen in front of it. “Did something move?” It grumbled out from around its dog treat. If Frisk could see it correctly, it was a smoking dog treat. “Was it my imagination? I can only see moving things.” That was a bit of useful random dialogue. “If something WAS moving . . . for example, some humans . . .” The dog threw itself in front of the humans’ path and growled, “I’ll make sure they NEVER move again!”

Magic latched onto Frisk and Becca’s Souls as the battle commenced. Whenever Frisk ran into a battle with the monsters, their souls seemed to resonate something about the monster. The dog’s name was Doggo and he was dressed in what looked to be some army pants and a tank top. He pulled out two swords and glared around the humans. Whenever one of the children shifted, he locked eyes with them.

“He can only see us if we move . . .?” Becca murmured aloud, her own knife in her hand. A toy knife would be nothing against real blades, Frisk thought, but Becca was the one with EXP.

“Yes!” Doggo replied despite the question being rhetorical.

Frisk stared hard at Doggo’s soul to check the strength of the monster. If they focused through the black and white form of the monster, Frisk’s Soul allowed them to read more about the monster’s upside down white soul. From what Frisk could tell, the monster became easily excited by movement and had hobbies that included squirrels. He was really just a dog!

“Don’t move an inch!” Doggo yelled, as he swung his blade at Frisk. They only had just enough time to notice that his blade was the same color of light blue as Becca’s Soul before they instinctively tried to dodge back. The blade of the dog’s sword matched the restrictions on Frisk’s Soul’s movement and despite their best efforts, their Soul was slashed. Frisk cried out in pain, trembling. There went part of their health.

“You--!” Becca yelled at Doggo as her own turn came. She brought her knife up and slashed back at Doggo. The dog yelped, stumbling backwards at the attack. His ears and tail briefly tucked low before he recovered himself gamely and attacked back. Becca’s eyes narrowed at the light blue of the sword and held completely still. The sword slid right through her Soul leaving her completely unharmed. Frisk didn’t know if that was because of her usual Soul’s movement or not.

Wait, when Becca held still sometimes during battle, a monster’s attack didn’t hurt her. Was that because she was light blue? Souls were magic too, so she had “light blue magic” in her Soul. And Doggo was using light blue magic on his swords. It made sense to Frisk then. ‘Don’t move an inch’ he had said. If Frisk held still when light blue magic was cast, the attack would go through them unharmed!

It was Frisk’s turn then. They were curious to put their theory to the test, but they had a different idea. They lifted their stick. Becca shot them a look, clearly thinking they were going to Fight, but Frisk instead threw their stick. Doggo’s reaction was instantaneous. He dropped to all fours and barked as he ran after the stick, picking it up with his mouth and bringing it back. Frisk fought him for the stick for a moment before they pulled it from his mouth and threw it again. Doggo again ran after it.

They played fetch for a little while until Frisk didn’t throw the stick again. Their chest was aching from their wounds. Doggo was thrilled though, happily wiggling as light blue magic wrapped again around his sword. It appeared that Frisk was going to test their theory anyway. “A FUN STICK APPEARS!” He cried as he swiped at them. Frisk held completely still as Becca made an alarmed noise, but the sword passed right through them without harm.

Becca didn’t hesitate to Spare the monster right afterwards. Doggo seemed a bit confused, but definitely still excited. “Huh! I was hurt, and then a stick appeared out of nowhere, and then disappeared. Was it a ghost stick? Did I just return to the afterlife? I need some dog treats to think about this.” He turned and hopped back into his station, grabbing some more at his dog treats to munch on them thoughtfully. Frisk was tempted to ring the little bell he had at his station to catch his attention again, but Becca scooped up the gold left on the ground and grabbed their hand to drag them further along.

“A stick!” She muttered in disbelief. “Because he’s a dog! Frisk, you’re a lil genius sometimes!” Frisk smiled at her until she shoved them in their chest. They cried out and shivered at the rush of pain. “But you’re also an idiot! You’re almost dead!”

“yeah kid, you don’t look so hot.” Becca stiffened at the appearance of Sans, who grinned at the both of them. “lettin’ the cold get to ya?” He asked.

“How did that guard know there were humans around?” Becca demanded, turning on the skeleton. “Was it your brother? Frisk was nearly killed!”

Sans seemed unconcerned. “my bro got a little excited, but he didn’t say anything to the other guards. they don’t listen to him anyway. chances are it was orders from higher up.”

“What do you mean?” Becca asked, her voice dropping with horror.

“i mean that you kids better watch your backs. the underground’s on alert for humans. word travels fast among the guard, and the civilians are also on the lookout.” Sans pulled his hand from his pocket and held out what looked to be a cold bottle of milk. He gave it to Frisk. “drink up, buddy. this’ll give ya strong bones.”

“Thank you.” Frisk said gratefully as they drank the milk. Their body healed almost completely and their Soul no longer ached. Frisk felt a bit more sturdy now. If they had to guess in terms of video game logic, they would say their defense had increased some.

“try not to die, alright? wouldn’t want a nice kid like you to die in a place like this.” Sans told them. “anyway, got something important for you two to remember. my brother has a very **special attack**. if you see a blue attack, don’t move and it won’t hurt you.”

“We had to figure that out the hard way.” Becca said. Sans dismissed her. He seemed a bit annoyed with her, Frisk thought. They wondered if Sans somehow knew that Becca had a higher level. Or maybe Sans was just a little annoyed she had cut him off. Frisk drank a little more of the milk.

“here’s an easy way to keep it in mind.” Sans continued. “imagine a stop sign. when you see a stop sign, you stop, right? stop signs are red, so imagine a blue stop sign instead. simple, right? when fighting, think about blue stop signs.”

“That’s not helpful at all!” Becca cried, stomping her foot. She seemed extremely frustrated. Frisk could tell that her nerves were getting to her. It probably didn’t help that they weren’t the best when it came to battles. They would need to get better and stop being hurt so much. They were out of healing items, after all.

“Blue stop signs.” The younger human nodded in understanding. Sans winked at them. Becca made a disgusted noise and stormed off, only to slide across the ice she hadn’t seen. Her legs scrambled under her before she slipped and slid all the way over to the other side of the area. Frisk tried not to laugh. Sans gave a short wave to her. Becca made a rude sign and stood up to attempt to read the sign that was in the middle of the ice.

Frisk turned back to Sans and tilted their head at him. He raised a bony eyebrow. “Papyrus?” They asked.

“you’ll see ‘im again. he’s up ahead planning his next trap.” Frisk nodded in understanding.

“Frisk! Snowdin is to the East! Let’s hurry before we freeze!” Becca called, waving them over. Frisk nodded and was about to run around the ice to join her when Sans said,

“friendly advice: i’d head north real fast. might meet someone new.” Frisk turned to ask him about who he meant, but the skeleton was gone. Frisk looked around for him. He was a strange skeleton, they decided before they rejoined Becca. They pointed North.

“No, East is that way. The sign said so.” Becca pointed further down the path. Frisk pointed a little more insistently towards the North. The girl opened her mouth to say something, but then paused as grunting reached both of their ears. They quieted down and listened carefully. Unable to parse what the noise was, the two walked forward warily. They reached the peak of the snowy hill in the north and looked down at the overhanging cliff. There was a human boy there, punching at air and chatting with what appeared to be a snowman. Becca sat up, alert.

“That’s Sandro!” She told Frisk. The boy was dressed properly for the cold, although his buzzed hair probably chilled him more. His fluffy pink earmuffs would only keep his ears warm. He had warm tan skin and, although it was hard to tell through his snow jacket and pants, he appeared to be thicker set than Frisk was. He was wearing a single pink glove that Frisk thought looked familiar and he appeared a bit upset. Becca motioned for Frisk to follow as they hurried to join him.

“Sandro!” Becca called, waving her hand to get his attention. The boy spun on his heel and punched towards her. She froze in place as his fist stopped right in front of her chest. He laughed at her and pulled his fist back. He was missing a tooth, Frisk noticed.

“Becca, you still flinch!” He teased. He was shorter than Frisk was, but only by a little bit. He didn’t appear much younger than Frisk either.

Becca crossed her arms, her happiness at seeing the boy quickly turning into annoyance at the greeting. “And _you_ still punch people on sight!”

“Not punch. Just punch _at_.” Sandro puffed himself up before he really took notice of both of the humans. He pointed a finger and waved it between both of them before stopping at Frisk. “Wait . . . _¿Quién eres? ¿Otro niño humano?_ ” He sounded a little surprised with whatever he was saying.

Frisk stared at him, not understanding. That sounded like it was possibly Spanish, but they weren’t sure. They glanced at Becca for help. “This is Frisk.” She introduced. “They fell down into the Underground today. Frisk, this is Sandro, and he doesn’t understand that not everyone speaks Spanish.”

Sandro rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, mildly offended. “It’s not my fault you don’t know it. _Hola_ , Frisk.” He held his fist out. Frisk bumped theirs to it, smiling. “Did you fall down on accident too? Who knew that the hole was so crumbly?”

“Sandro!” Becca snapped. Frisk just gave an awkward smile and didn’t respond.

“You’re a quiet one!” Sandro continued unheedingly. “Anyway, Becca I thought you didn’t want to leave the Ruins? What’re you doing out here?”

“I thought it was time to leave.” Becca admitted. She dropped her arms and stared at the snowman before she said, “We want to leave. Do you want to come with us?”

“Leave the Underground?” Sandro gaped before he frowned in thought. He rubbed at his chin. “I don’t mind . . . but I can’t go yet! I have to defeat Papyrus first! That’s why I’m out here training!”

“Wait, Papyrus? That skeleton? Why do you want to beat him?”

“To prove I’m stronger!” Sandro jumped and threw his fist into the air, scattering some of the snow around him. “He’s so strong, and I don’t want to leave Snowdin unless I beat him! It was the deal I made!”

“We need to meet him anyway.” Becca told him. “He’s trying to capture us because he knows we’re human.”

“ _¿En serio?_ He did not notice for me.”

“Sans says the Underground is on the lookout for us. It’s not safe for any humans.” Becca’s voice was serious now. She touched his arm. “Come with us, please.”

Sandro’s cheeks turned a little red and he ducked his head. “Okay.” He finally said. “ _Voy contigo._ But first I need to find my glove. I looked in the box back a ways, but it wasn’t in there!” He held up his bare hand, upset once again. Frisk suddenly remembered where they had seen that glove before. They reached into their pocket and held out the pink glove they had gotten from the box. Sandro lit up at the sight of it. “ _¡Mi guante! ¡Lo encontraste!_ ” He took the glove and slipped it back on, wiggling his fingers. “Thank you!”

Frisk nodded back and pointed at the snowman curiously. It seemed strangely sentient, now that they thought about it. And Sandro had been speaking to it. Frisk would not be surprised at all if it was alive, and if it was, they wanted to be introduced.

“Oh no, do not mind me.” The snowman said, proving that it was indeed alive. “Please, continue talking with your friends.”

“Oh!! My friends, this is a snowman! Snowman, my friends and I are leaving the Underground!” Sandro told the snowman.

“I wish I could go with you.” The snowman admitted. “I want to see the world . . . But I cannot move. Sandro, if you and your friends would be so kind . . . please, take a piece of me and carry it far away.”

“Are you sure?” Sandro asked, surprised.

“That won’t hurt you?” Becca gazed at the snowman’s body.

“Not if it is only a piece or two.” The snowman responded.

“Right! I will do it!” Sandro grabbed a chunk of the snowman and pounded it into a ball before he shoved it into his inventory. Frisk stepped forward and tilted their head, holding out their hands to be sure they could as well, before they too grabbed a piece and put it into the pockets. Strangely enough, the snow didn’t melt. It must be magic.

“Thank you . . . and good luck, travellers!”

“Let’s get going, guys. Sandro, do you know the way to Snowdin? We’re not exactly dressed for this weather, and we still need to deal with Papyrus.” Becca said.

“Of course I do! I live there, after all! It’s still a bit aways, but I will lead you. Follow me!” Sandro dashed ahead. Frisk and Becca shared a look, half-amused and half-exasperated, before they ran after their new party member.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  This won't be the last time Frisk (or anyone) dies, just so you're aware. The Underground in this world is more perilous. And I'm referring to the Underground itself, not just the population.  
>   
> Also, Sandro has some Spanish lines. I'll translate them down here if anyone needs them, but they're pretty basic.  
>   
> Finally, a head's up with the kids. The discussion of gender will be brought up because not all kids understand to call Frisk they/them. So there will be some gendering from some of the children. Children are young and make mistakes. This will be discussed, so don't take it as me giving Frisk a gender please! The way I write Frisk is so the reader can apply their own headcanon onto them. If you believe they're a female, then they are to you! If you believe they are male, then they are to you! If you believe they're anywhere in between, or even alternating genders, then that's what Frisk is to you! However, I will be using they/them to refer to Frisk. I do not mind if you think of them one way or another.  
> Please consider leaving a review if you have enjoyed this!  
>  
> 
> [Here is Sandro!](http://tsukithewolf.tumblr.com/post/145916841651/heres-the-orange-soul-sandro-his-power-will-be)


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk, Sandro, and Becca run into more puzzles, play a couple of games, and Frisk discovers more about their new friends' respective pasts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are gonna be kind of long, mostly because a lot of the dialogue is taken from the brothers interacting. So I'm sorry if rehashing those conversations bothers anyone! Once we leave the set up area, there will be much more original stuff.

Sandro ran ahead of the two travellers, causing Frisk and Becca to rush to keep up. He was shockingly fast in his excitement, and Frisk hoped that they wouldn’t lose sight of him. He avoided the large patch of ice to head East just like Becca had originally been saying before Sans directed Frisk elsewhere. Voices sprang up from past the East trail. Frisk and Becca hurried to catch up, only to run into the skeleton brothers with Sandro.

There was a large square of pounded-down snow between the two humans and the skeletons. Sandro stood on the same side of the square as Frisk and Becca. The boy waved happily, but neither brothers seemed to notice him as Papyrus was in the middle of scolding Sans.

“YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO GO BACK TO THE HOUSE ALREADY!! WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!” The taller skeleton cried.

Sans just shrugged. “ _snow_ need to get upset, bro. i’m just taking my time. napping here and there. you should try it sometime.”

“NO, I WILL NOT TRY IT!! I HAVE FAR TOO MUCH TO DO WITH MY TIME THAN TO ‘NAP’!! YOU’RE SO LAZY!! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!”

“i think that’s called . . . sleeping.”

“EXCUSES, EXCUSES!”

“What is up with these brothers?” Becca mumbled to Frisk, but mostly to herself. Sandro decided to try again to catch the brothers’ attentions.

“Papyrus! Sans! _¡Hola, mis amigos!_ ” He called. Papyrus turned quickly.

“SANDRO!” He gasped. “OH-HO! AND THE HUMANS ARRIVE!” The skeleton paused and then leaned forward to whisper something to his brother just low enough for the humans not to hear before Papyrus motioned to Sandro. “SANDRO, JOIN US OVER HERE SO YOU DON’T GET CAPTURED WITH THE HUMANS.”

“Does he really not notice you’re a human too?” Becca asked Sandro. The boy laughed, amused, and shrugged at her. He jogged over to join the skeletons and planted himself besides Papyrus.

“What is this, my friend?” He asked, pointing as the square. Sans had some kind of remote in his hand that he pressed. Nothing seemed to change, but the hairs on Frisk’s neck rose like there was static in the air.

Papyrus cleared his throat, posturing proudly. “HUMANS! IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE . . . QUITE SHOCKING!!! FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE!!!” Becca paled as she gazed at the invisible electricity. She definitely seemed quite shocked. Frisk swallowed a little nervously. Sandro oohed. “WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE,”

“Forget this!” Becca shook her head. “I’m not doing this!” She looked to either side of the square boundaries of the maze. There were two skinny electricity-free paths on either side of the maze, however there was nothing but air on each side as well. Becca thought it preferable to risk it rather than being electrocuted. At least it was a straight shot. “Come on, Frisk!” She yelled before she picked up her skirt and ran the edges. Electricity crackled at her arm, but didn’t actually shock her as her feet found their way across the tightrope-thin piece of snow and rock around the edge of the maze. She gasped in relief as she made it to the other side of the maze without falling. Sandro and Papyrus gaped.

“NO!” The skeleton cried and stomped his foot. “YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TRY THE MAZE ITSELF! HOW COULD OUR IDEA BE SO FOILED?” Papyrus gave Becca an impressed but slightly disappointed look as he stared at the orb he carried in his hand. He sighed. “NO MATTER. I SUPPOSE I’LL JUST HAVE TO TRY TO CATCH YOU WITH−”

“Papyrus?” Frisk called quietly. They were still on the other side of the maze, having not moved. Sans nudged his brother to get him to stop talking. Papyrus stopped abruptly as he noticed the smaller human still waiting.

“WHAT’S THIS? DO YOU WISH TO ATTEMPT OUR MASTERFUL MAZE??” Papyrus’s eye sockets sparkled with joy and anticipation. Frisk nodded a bit nervously, but determined.

“Frisk, no! Just go around the edges!” Becca instructed.

“No! Go right through!” Sandro yelled over her. “You can do it, Frisk!”

“settle down so he can explain.” Sans told the humans, grinning at them.

Papyrus cleared his throat again to get back on track. “OKAY, AS I WAS SAYING . . . WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP! SOUND LIKE FUN???” He honestly made it sound like it would be very fun to him. Frisk liked puzzles, but they weren’t so sure they wanted to die again by electrocution. They nodded in understanding. “GOOD! BECAUSE! THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE . . . IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL, I THINK.” He glanced at the two humans beside him coyly. Sandro was practically shaking with his excitement to see what would happen, apparently used to Papyrus and his games. Becca glared some at the skeleton. Sans didn’t react.

Papyrus’s gaze snapped back to Frisk cheerfully. “OKAY, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW.”

Frisk stared down at the borders of the square. They couldn’t see any of the electricity. It was nerve-wracking. There was nothing for it. They would just have to inch their way forward. They took a couple of steps and immediately felt a wall, but no pain came. Instead, across from Frisk, Papyrus’s entire body jolted as he was electrocuted loudly. Becca let out a tiny shriek. It was enough to turn Papyrus’s bones black temporarily before he turned on his brother furiously.

“SANS!!!” The taller skeleton yelled, stomping his foot angrily. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!”

“i think the human has to hold the orb.” Sans informed him, looking amused by the entire situation.

“OH, OKAY.” Papyrus turned and moved through the invisible maze with ease, knowing exactly where all the twists and turns were before he stopped in front of Frisk. “HOLD THIS PLEASE!” He tossed the orb in the air and ran swiftly back through the maze, making it back to the other side before the orb landed on Frisk’s head.

Just for the fun of it, they balanced the orb on their head and kept their face blank. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to hold the shocking orb on their head, but Frisk liked to play along. Sandro was giggling from where he was next to Sans. Becca just shook her head.

“OKAY, TRY NOW!” Papyrus called. Frisk glanced down at the snow and saw that the skeleton’s boots had left a distinctive pathway on the ground. The human decided to follow it, keeping their arms closely tucked into their body as they did so. The orb stayed perfectly balanced on Frisk’s head. It was a skill.

As soon as Frisk exited the maze, Papyrus cried, “INCREDIBLE!! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL!! YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY . . . TOO EASILY! HOWEVER!! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS! YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! I KNOW I AM!” He laughed loudly. The strangest thing happened then with the skeleton sliding backwards away, almost as if he was falling backwards.

“Frisk, that was amazing!” Sandro ran over to the other human and snatched the electric ball. He tossed it up and down to test the weight. “You are quite good at puzzles!” Frisk smiled and shrugged.

“You were lucky.” Becca told them before she turned to Sans. Her voice softened, but there was a hint of guilt there. “Thank you for helping Frisk.”

Sans shrugged, his hands shoved into his pockets. “i said i’d look out for you kids. not that you really need it. seem to be doing fine on your own.” He held his hand out to Sandro. The boy passed over the ball reluctantly. Sans shoved it into his pockets.

“Does Papyrus know that Sandro is a human as well?”

“probably should get on telling him that.” Sans joked. “hey kid, maybe papyrus will try harder with you if he knows you’re human.” He told Sandro.

“I still cannot believe he did not recognize me as human.” Sandro huffed a laugh, grinning. “It will make the victory all the better when I defeat him, then!”

“What’s up with this ‘defeat Papyrus’ thing anyway?” Becca asked.

“I will explain later.” Sandro brushed her off, embarrassed. He glanced away from her, his cheeks turning red again. The sight of the red cheeks reminded Frisk of just how cold they were becoming. The adrenaline from the puzzle was still pumping through them, but the chill of the Underground was really starting to get to them. They hugged their body, shuddering.

“hey,” Sans nodded to Frisk, his smile softening, “thanks . . . my brother seems like he’s having fun. you didn’t have to go through the maze, but you did.”

Frisk looked at their boots. “Papyrus seems . . . nice.” They murmured, licking their lips. They were starting to chap some.

Sans’s smile broadened before he addressed all of the children, “by the way, did you see that weird outfit he’s wearing?”

“The armor?” Becca asked. “Isn’t it a uniform?”

“Papyrus just started wearing it recently!” Sandro denied.

“we made that a few weeks ago for a costume party.” Sans explained.

“Ohhhh!! Right! I remember now!”

“he hasn’t worn anything else since . . . keeps calling it his ‘battle body’.”

“But the armor won’t really protect him, then?” Becca asked. Sans stared at her briefly before deciding to ignore her question. Becca felt a little scorned. She had a feeling that Sans knew about her LV and didn’t appreciate it at all. He had yet to call her out on it, though. Had he heard the conversation she’d had with Frisk earlier?

“man.” Sans continued, chuckling a bit. “isn’t my brother cool?”

“Papyrus is the coolest!!” Sandro agreed. Sans pat Sandro on the arm and then motioned onwards.

“get going. be careful of the edges, though. they’re crumbly.”

“Munny is probably getting worried for me.” Sandro nodded in agreement, looking a little worried. He spun around to face the other humans. “Let us keep going! I know the way!”

“We know you know the way.” Becca rolled her eyes as Sandro began to march off through the snow. She followed after. Frisk only paused long enough to wave goodbye to Sans before they hurried to follow their friends.

The next area of the strange snowy underground world was much larger than the rest. There were bridges across gaps between sections of rocks. Sans hadn’t been kidding when he said they were crumbly, but Frisk was still curious to look out at the scenery. Something else took their notice, however, when they spotted a rabbit monster leaning against what appeared to be a classic ice cream cart. He was dressed in bright red and yellows, which contrasted against the surroundings and the monster’s blue fur. He appeared sad about something. They grabbed Sandro’s sleeve and pointed at the monster curiously.

“Oh! I have never seen him before!” Sandro and Frisk stared at the monster. The boy looked at Frisk. “Do you have gold? Maybe he has food!”

“We don’t have money to spend on ice cream! It’s cold enough!” Becca scolded. Sandro crossed his arms, frowning.

“There is always time for _helado_. I have not had it in a long time! Frisk, you want some, yes?” Frisk smiled apologetically at Becca as they sided with Sandro. They wanted to try other curious foods, and they were both out of healing items. Even if ice cream wasn’t the best choice when it was so cold, they still needed to be prepared for any eventualities. Becca sighed as the three of them approached the ice cream cart. The monster seemed to be mumbling to himself.

“I don’t understand why these aren’t selling . . . It’s the perfect weather for something cold . . .” He opened an eye then and noticed the humans in front of him. Becca half-expected him to reject them just for being humans, but he seemed more excited about the fact he had customers to be held up by the semantics of their species. If he even recognized them as humans. “Hello! Would you like some Nice Cream? It’s the frozen treat that warms your heart! Now just 15G!”

“What makes them Nice Cream?” Sandro asked, peeking into the open cart to look at the wrapped Nice Creams. He had to stand on his tiptoes to look deep enough. Frisk wanted to look too, but he was in the way.

“Here, try one and see!” The Nice Cream guy held out one of the bars. Frisk gladly paid for two, and Becca and Sandro each bought one. “Here you go! Have a super-duper day!” Frisk’s health was only a little low out of all of their friends, so they were the one who opened the Nice Cream up. The wrapper had words on it that read, “You look nice today!”. Frisk felt happier after seeing it, cheered up by the compliment.

“ _Está muy bueno_.” Sandro agreed. Frisk ate the sweet Nice Cream. It melted in their mouth deliciously and made them crave more. Their entire body, though chilled by the treat, felt warmed up as well. Perhaps it was their Soul that was warm. They only hummed in agreement when the children asked how the Nice Cream tasted, too busy enjoying the treat as they walked.

“Have you really lived in this area this entire time, Sandro?” Becca asked as the three of them carefully crossed the small bridge to the larger part of the area. There was another pounded down section in the snow, along with a snowball. If Frisk looked downhill, they could barely see a hole. It appeared like it was a game of some sort.

“ _Pues_ . . . Yes.” Sandro kicked the snowball. It rolled and bounced off the boundaries of the game. He dashed after it calling behind him, “I met Papyrus in Snowdin, and we started talking. And he liked to fight, so we practiced fighting! I even got to meet his boss, Undyne!” He knocked the snowball into the hole. A little orange flag came up and some gold popped out. A new snowball magically appeared at the top of the game again. Sandro dashed back up to join the other humans. “So I made a deal with him that if I defeat him, he lets me pass! He promised he would not let me go to Waterfall until I did. So, that’s what I’m doing!”

“But _why_?” Becca insisted. Frisk decided to try their own hand at the game. However on their first attempt, the snowball managed to melt before they could get it in the hole. They also ended up slipping on the ice. They rejoined the others so they could try again.

Sandro crossed his arms, huffing as if offended. “Because I have to defeat him!”

“There’s not a _better_ reason?”

“Why would I need a better reason??” The snowball melted again.

“Because that’s a dumb reason!”

“ _YOU’RE_ a dumb reason!”

“That doesn’t even make sense!!”

“Becca.” Frisk grabbed the girl’s sleeve, stopping the two glaring children from arguing more. They pointed at the snowball. “Wanna try?”

“Oh!! You CAN speak!” Sandro completely abandoned his fight to grab Frisk’s attention. Becca huffed, irritated, and tried her hand at the game, quietly kicking the snowball down the hill. “I thought you could not talk! You were . . . um . . . that thing.” He gave up.

“Mute?” Frisk suggested quietly.

“Yeah! That, I think!”

Frisk shook their head. “I just . . . don’t talk much.” They admitted.

“That’s cool too! _Mamá_ liked to say I talk far too much!” Sandro admitted back. He laughed a little. “I think she’s wrong, though! I think my sister talks more!” Frisk didn’t know how to respond to that, so they didn’t. Instead they watched as Becca figured out how to get the ball timed into the hole right before the ball disappeared. A light blue flag appeared and a little bit of gold popped out. She rejoined them at the top.

“Are you going to try again?” She asked Frisk. The human opened their mouth to respond, staring hard at the newly reformed snowball, but Sandro cut them off as he called out Sans’s name and rushed over to the skeleton who had not been standing over there watching them a few moments ago.

“You’re back early.” Becca noticed, nodding to him. Sans was tossing a snowball up and down in his hand.

“i’ve been thinking about selling treats too.” He responded and held out the snow in his hand. “want some fried snow? it’s just 5G.”

Frisk was skeptical. The snow didn’t look very fried. Becca shared a look with Frisk already letting them know that the skeleton was probably messing with them. Sandro didn’t seem to notice the trick at all and agreed to the price, already digging into his pockets.

“did i say 5G? i meant 50G.” Sans corrected.

“ _¿Qué? ¡No lo quiero!_ ” Sandro shook his head.

“you’re right. that’s still too low.” Sans agreed, shoving the snow into his pocket. He didn’t really have much to say to them after that seeing as he started to nap on his feet. Frisk wondered how he could sleep in all of the cold, but they guessed that skeletons wouldn’t really feel the cold. They were tempted to ask Sans for his jacket, but that wouldn’t be fair to Becca, who was probably just as cold.

There was another section past Sans, but Sandro waved them off from it. “There are just more guard stands for two dogs.” He assured them. “We will probably meet them!”

“Oh great, more guards.” Becca sighed.

“They’re my friends!” Sandro cried. “They will not hurt us!”

“They may finally recognize you as human, though.” Becca pointed out. “They will probably try to capture you then.”

Sandro made a face. “ . . . Maybe.” He finally agreed, not appearing too happy about it. “I do not like to hit dogs.”

“No killing.” Frisk told him suddenly. Both children stared at the newest human child, surprised at the seriousness of their voice.

“I don’t kill monsters!” Sandro glared, offended that Frisk would think it. “Who would kill all of these nice people?”

Becca was silent. Frisk decided to rescue her from explaining. “Self-defense.” They said. “But I don’t . . . want anybody to die. So please don’t.”

Sandro didn’t notice Becca’s silence. “Of course!” He agreed readily. “I only weaken them if they attack me. I do not kill!”

It was awkward, so they decided to move on from the game without Frisk winning. Sandro told them that they could always come back. And that he had gotten all of the colored flags before, so he could show them the tricks. Frisk wondered how long Sandro had been down in the Underground. Apparently it was long enough to be comfortable with the area and to beat that game over and over again. They wanted to ask.

“What made you suddenly want to leave?” Sandro asked out of the blue as they passed the game. Frisk noticed a snowball on the ground, but after examining it they realized it was a snowdecahedron.

“What do you mean?” Becca asked defensively.

“I just mean−” But he didn’t finish as the three of them once again came across the skeleton brothers. This time they were standing across a small square of stamped down snow. There was a paper laying on the ground in the middle of the square. The brothers appeared to have been chatting for a little while, but how did Sans possibly beat them there? Could skeletons teleport? Sandro was unconcerned, but Becca looked sharply back the way they came too. Frisk decided to assume skeletons could teleport. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing they had experienced that day.

This time Papyrus noticed them right away. “HUMANS!!! AND SANDRO. I HOPE YOU ARE READY FOR . . .” He paused and looked around the area for something. “SANS!! WHERE’S THE PUZZLE!!!”

“it’s right there. on the ground.” Sans responded. “trust me. there’s no way they can get past this one.”

The kids moved forward then to grab the paper on the ground. Becca seemed a little hesitant, but she stood looking over Sandro and Frisk’s shoulders as they all looked at the puzzle. It was a word search. Becca sighed with relief. Frisk wondered if there was a pen anywhere, but Sandro just decided to start pointing out the words he found. All of the words were extremely easy to find on the “Monster Kidz Word Search”, except for the last jumbled word. No matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t find it. They gave up.

Frisk put the paper back on the ground and the three of them walked over to join the brothers. Papyrus made a disgusted noise. “SANS!!! THAT DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!”

“whoops.” Sans sounded completely unrepentant. “i knew i should have used today’s crossword instead.”

“WHAT!? CROSSWORD!?” Papyrus sounded even more offended at the very thought as he spun on his brother. “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!! IN MY OPINION . . . JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST.”

Sans made a face, surprised by his brother as well. “what? really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble? that’s for baby bones.”

“UN. BELIEVABLE.” Papyrus enunciated. “HUMANS!!! SANDRO!!! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!”

“Crosswords are the ones with the boxes, right? That you have to fill in with words?” Sandro asked.

“And they’re usually hard words.” Becca added.

“Then most definitely crosswords are harder! Sorry, _mi amigo_ , but it’s true.”

“I agree with Sans and Sandro. Definitely harder.” The four of them looked at Frisk to voice their opinion. Frisk certainly didn’t think junior jumbles were difficult, but it didn’t feel right ganging up against Papyrus. They weren’t sure if their friends would look down on them for it, but they agreed that junior jumbles are difficult. Papyrus seemed to appreciate Frisk’s agreement.

“SEE? THIS HUMAN KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT!! YOU THREE? YOU’RE ALL WEIRD! CROSSWORDS ARE SO EASY. IT’S THE SAME SOLUTION EVERY TIME.”

“What? No way!” Sandro denied.

“IT IS!” Papyrus countered. “I JUST FILL ALL THE BOXES IN WITH THE LETTER ‘Z’ BECAUSE EVERY TIME I LOOK AT A CROSSWORD, ALL I CAN DO IS SNORE!!!” He laughed again and dashed off ahead of them, but not without giving Frisk a quick pat on the back.

“THAT’S NOT HOW THEY WORK!!” Sandro yelled after Papyrus.

“papyrus . . . finds difficulty in interesting places.” Sans admitted. He appeared to be trying to figure out how he felt about the whole scenario. Amusement was quickly becoming prevalent. “yesterday he was stumped trying to ‘solve’ the horoscope.”

“What’s that?” Becca asked.

“funny things that predict the future. but you don’t need that, right?” Frisk stared at Sans. Did he know about humans and their powers? Becca didn’t show any reaction to his statement. Instead she said,

“I don’t believe in predicting such things anyway. Never did me or my mama no good.” She stuck her nose in the air. She felt a little more closed off to Frisk. Sans didn’t respond to her. “Come on, then. Snowdin’s not too far, right? We best get going. I’m freezing!”

“I will offer my jacket to you!” Sandro declared, already unzipping his jacket to expose his red and green striped shirt and orange bandana that was around his neck. Now that Frisk was closer, they could see crudely drawn abs on the cloth. They thought it was a funny coincidence that all of them were wearing stripes that day. Maybe it was a trend in the Underground?

“No thanks.” Becca turned away from his offer. “I’ll wait.”

Sandro deflated a bit, but recovered quickly enough to zip back up his jacket. “No problem!”

“hey kid,” Sans nudged Frisk to get their attention, “thanks for saying ‘junior jumble’ just to appease my brother.” He seemed to consider adding more before eventually relenting, “why did you? obviously crosswords are harder, right? much harder.”

Frisk had a feeling they had just stumbled into a brotherly argument. They decided to sidestep it quickly, not understanding siblings. “I like him.” They said simply. Sans relaxed from getting worked up over the puzzles.

“alright then. cool.”

“Frisk! We’re headed out!” Becca called, waving them over.

“See you later?” Frisk asked Sans as they were about to rejoin their friends.

“yeah. stay safe, kiddo.” Sans responded with a grin. Frisk thought the Underground was fun, despite everything.

The next area was protected by a mountain and had a couple of tables randomly set up in it. One had a plate of spaghetti, and the other a microwave. It didn’t appear to be plugged in. Frisk noticed there was another mouse hole in the mountain. Becca poked the spaghetti. It was ice cold and completely inedible. It had an odd smell too. The thought of the mouse one day being able to heat up the spaghetti in the microwave filled Frisk with determination to continue to struggle on, allowing them to make a Save.

Sandro went ahead and read the note that was on the ground that Frisk hadn’t even noticed. “It’s from Papyrus!” He cleared his throat and began to yell in his best imitation of Papyrus’s voice, “‘HUMANS!! (AND SANDRO, IF HE WANTS ANY) PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI.’ He added some words in those curvy things, like those thoughts you don’t want others to see? But he wrote them out. ‘(LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGHETTI IS A TRAP DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU!!! YOU’LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT, THAT YOU WON’T REALIZE YOU AREN’T PROGRESSING! THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!!)’ And then he signed it, ‘NYEH-HEH-HEH, PAPYRUS.’”

Sandro placed the note back down and glanced with horror and wariness at the spaghetti. “I do not think we should eat it. Last time I had his spaghetti, I had the runs for three days.” Becca scrambled to clean her hands off in the snow. Frisk wasn’t sure they could even eat it if they tried.

“Was he expecting us to reheat it?” Becca asked, looking dubiously at the unplugged microwave. “Sans’s brother is . . . really kind of dumb, isn’t he?”

“Papyrus is smart in other ways!! And he’s amazing!!” Sandro immediately turned on Becca, angry at his friend’s insult.

Becca lifted her hands placatingly even as she glared back at him. “I didn’t mean it badly! I think Papyrus is fine too! I just meant he’s not the brightest crayon in the box!”

“You only say that because you have an unreasonable hatred of monsters!” Sandro yelled.

“I do not!” Becca yelled back.

Sandro pointed at her. “Then why did you stay in the Ruins? And warn me that monsters wanted to kill me? I’ve been living in Snowdin for over a year and a half, and I haven’t been taken to the capital or anything! You just don’t like monsters! Admit it!”

“I DON’T HATE MONSTERS!!” Becca screamed, her face turning bright red. Frisk flinched badly and curled in a little on themselves. “I just hate their leaders!!”

“Why?” Sandro demanded. “Every person in the Underground loves Their Majesties Chara and Asriel! I’ve asked! What did they do to you when you’ve been locked this whole time in the Underground?!”

“THEY!!” She stopped herself, her voice abruptly cutting off as tears filled her eyes. Sandro’s fire died instantly in his confusion. He shared a look with Frisk, shocked. Becca wiped furiously at her eyes. When they could see her cold green eyes again, her voice was as icy as their surroundings. “I never told you?” She asked quietly. “Oh right, I didn’t. I stopped telling my story after Imani and Amal. Those . . . _bastards_ killed my mama. They killed her for no reason other than being a human!”

“What?” Sandro asked, his face paling. “No, they wouldn’t . . .”

“They did.” She hissed. “My mama and I fell down here, and she told me to wait in the Ruins for her. She went to the capital to talk to the leaders of the monsters. And then she died there, murdered by their hands. I never saw her again!”

“How . . . how do you know she’s not still at the capital?” Sandro questioned bravely. Frisk wanted the Becca they were used to back.

“Because I’ve been down here for five damn years, and I haven’t seen my mama since. She wouldn’t leave me here alone.” Becca turned away from them then, her shoulders stiff as she lifted her head gamely. “Don’t tell me all monsters are kind.” She told them, her voice deadened of emotion. “Because they’re not. They want to capture and kill us. And we’re not gonna let them. We’re gonna take all of the humans out of the Underground when we leave.” She marched off stiffly then.

Sandro and Frisk hesitated, guilt filling both of them for different reasons. Sandro wanted to apologize for bringing it up and hurting Becca, but he knew she probably wouldn’t accept it. His sister never did when he made her angry like that. Becca needed time to cool off. He would be sure to apologize as soon as he could, though. Frisk, however, felt horrible realizing how long Becca had been down in the Underground. They weren’t sure how old she was, but she must have been young when she had fallen with her mother if she had been down there for five years. Frisk couldn’t imagine living on their own for that long. They wanted to give the girl a hug, but knew it would be better not to.

The two humans shared pained looks before they followed after Becca, metaphorical tails between their legs.


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We discover the Orange Soul's power.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been WAY too long since I've updated this, and I'm so sorry. Honestly this chapter has been fighting me. I feel bad because I honestly love this concept and I feel like some people may think I abandoned this story. Sorry! Anyway here's the next chapter! Again thank you to my beta joviamod for the editing!
> 
> I apologize for how slow this chapter is. The next one may be as well. Please bear with me.
> 
> Also again keep note of the tags. I may or may not change them.

There was a tense silence among the children as they continued into the next area. It was another extremely large area. A sign greeted them upon entering. Becca had already moved to read it aloud. “‘Warning: Dog Marriage’.” She paused, her dark mood shifting in her confusion. “Wait, what?”

 

“It’s true.” Sandro said. “There are two married dogs around here.” Frisk looked around them. Now that they were paying attention, there were a couple of monsters in the area. They didn’t see any dogs, though. At least, none that looked married. “If all of the traps are activated, that means that there will be spikes down there blocking our way.” Sandro pointed down towards the lower half of the area. “But I know where the button is!”

 

“How?” Becca asked, her voice a little stiff still towards him. Sandro didn’t show any signs of letting it affect him, but Frisk thought they might have seen him cringe a little bit.

 

“Because I had to do these puzzles!” He explained. He motioned for them to follow after him as he ran across the snowy field and between a couple of trees. He grinned at them from the middle of bare patch in the snow. Frisk’s hands came up to cover their nose and mouth and breathed hard to try to warm their face. Their hands were beginning to shake a bit. They hoped that it wasn’t too much farther until Snowdin. They were already looking forward to the warm house they hoped that Sans and Papyrus had.

 

“What is it?” Becca asked, looking around and waiting. Sandro slid his foot forward, and they all heard a click as well as the slide of metal somewhere. The boy looked proud as he put his hands on his hips.

 

“All set!” He called. Frisk gave a clap as the three children turned to continue on their way. However, rapid crunching of the snow caught their attention. They only just had time to spin around when all of their Souls were summoned, a monster facing them. It was an armored dog, his tongue hanging excitedly from his mouth as he held his sword and shield aloft. The shield had a strange symbol on it (the royal symbol?) and it was the size of the monster. It was only a bit taller than Frisk was. It’s tail wagged, waiting.

 

“Lesser Dog!” Sandro cried with delight. The dog yipped at him, but said no more. Frisk frowned, confused when they realized it wasn’t their turn to attack. Usually they received the first move when a battle commenced, but this time the turn was given to someone else. Frisk turned their head to see Sandro step forward, his orange Soul burning brightly against his chest. He seemed completely at ease with the battle, his fists held aloft. However, he didn’t attack.

 

“Why are you attacking us, my friend? We are only trying to get to Snowdin!” He asked.

 

Lesser Dog didn’t respond. Instead he panted and charged at them. His shield came up to bash them, but the children jumped out of the way before he could. They spun on their heels as Frisk’s turn came. Like they had done with Doggo, they lifted their stick. It was barely in the air before Lesser Dog began to wiggle excitedly. Frisk threw the stick. Lesser Dog dropped his sword and shield and chased after it, barking ecstatically. Sandro burst into laughter at the sight and looked like he also wanted to throw the stick, but he was unable to because it wasn’t his turn. Becca just shook her head and crossed her arms, waiting as Lesser Dog returned the stick and Frisk continued to play catch.

 

Eventually they pulled the slobbered-on stick from Lesser Dog again, and the monster attacked for a second time. Again the children dodged, although Becca winced as she was hit a bit. Sandro’s own Soul appeared as if it would’ve taken damage too, but strangely it appeared Lesser Dog went right through it as the boy moved.

 

Becca Spared the dog, refusing the fight, and Sandro and Frisk followed along. Lesser Dog released them, clearly overjoyed, and dashed off immediately. It seemed to be in a hurry for something. Frisk had to admit that was one of the easier fights they’d had so far in the Underground.

 

“They attacked me as well.” Sandro said quietly, frowning as he crossed his arms.

 

“I told you, didn’t I?” Becca told him, already crunching through the snow down towards where Sandro had said the spikes were.

 

“I did not think I would also be attacked! Do you think they see me as a human now?” He followed after her quickly.

 

“Probably.” She muttered.

 

“Travelling with us.” Frisk suggested as they flicked the dog slobber off of their stick. It was pretty gross, and they didn’t want the slobber to freeze on the stick.

 

“That’s also a possibility.” Sandro didn’t respond to that. Instead the girl glanced over her shoulder at him and asked, “How come you went first in the battle? Usually it’s Frisk.”

 

“Oh.” Sandro said, clearly not surprised, “That is my power.”

 

“What? You figured out your power?” All of Becca’s grumpiness dropped in her surprised. She seemed a bit eager to hear about Sandro’s power.

 

“ _Sí_. I go first.” He said it simply, but still both of his companions frowned in confusion.

 

“You . . . go first? That’s it?” Becca didn’t sound impressed. “That doesn’t seem like a good power compared to mine or Frisk’s.” So it was common knowledge among the humans what Becca’s power was? Frisk wondered why the girl didn’t use it more. Wouldn’t it be more useful in battle? Maybe it was because all of the battles they had been in thus far had been short. Frisk decided to ask later. They had reached the area where the spikes had been. Frisk glanced into the large holes as they stepped carefully over them. The points of the spikes reflected the strange lighting of the Underground.

 

“It is . . . difficult to explain. And I do not have a better name for it.” Sandro grinned sheepishly. “But yes! I go first.”

 

“That’s--” Becca didn’t get to finish as two large shapes approached them. They were hooded figures with white snouts sticking out. They towered over the three children, easily as tall as Papyrus but bulkier, as they approached and surrounded them. Axes were carried in each of the figures’ hands, making Frisk pale at the sight of them. The image of them being sliced in half made their stomach clench in horror. Twin sniffs occurred.

 

“What’s that smell?” One asked while the other asked, “(Where’s that smell?)” Their voices were not much different from each other. “If you’re a smell . . .” One began, “ . . . identify yoursmellf!” The other finished. The dogs (because now Frisk could see that they were dogs) sniffed around as they searched the area. Were they like Doggo and couldn’t see what wasn’t moving?

 

Sandro called to them, “We’re right here!” They froze immediately and looked at him. They appeared surprised from what Frisk could see of them under the hoods.

 

“It’s Sandro.” One said. “(He’s with the weird smell.)” The other said. “He smells like the weird smell.” The first agreed. “It makes me want to eliminate.” “( . . . Eliminate YOU!)”

 

The three humans’ Souls were once again summoned as the dogs pushed back their hoods to reveal themselves. Frisk could see now that these two must be the married dogs Sandro had been referring to earlier. They stood close to each other protectively, occasionally granting each other smooches. The Dogi approached them sternly even as they shot each other loving gazes.

 

“Dogi!” Sandro said, using his turn as he once again went first. “Why are you attacking me? We are neighbors!” He appeared to be becoming distressed. He shook his head and then stomped his foot, frowning. “Stop attacking me and my friends!”

 

“Sorry Sandro.” The male dog said. “(But we must capture the strange smell.)” The female dog said. “(Could be humans.)”

 

They separated themselves so that they were surrounding the children and began to bark lovingly. Swirls of magic in the shapes of hearts twirled towards the humans, ranging from light blue magic to the typical white. Becca and Frisk maneuvered themselves to make sure the light blue hearts would touch them, and then froze so the magic would miss. Sandro didn’t, however. He dodged in and out of the hearts, not bothering to pause. He was fast, Frisk quickly realized. He held his arms close like they had seen boxers do on television. His feet never paused for long as he ducked and dodged the magic.

 

“They seem too caught up in themselves to even focus on sight.” Becca murmured to Frisk as they contemplated their next move. “And we smell suspicious to them.”

 

Frisk could throw the stick again, but they worried it wouldn’t work with two of the dogs. They seemed much more powerful than the previous dogs. And they were very distracted by each other. However, Frisk knew that every dog also loved to play fetch. With the three children there, it was probably better to get done faster . . . even if Frisk would like to play around a bit more.

 

They lifted their stick and wiggled it until they caught both Dogamy and Dogressa’s attentions. Their tails wagged excitedly, eyes finally torn from each other as they stared at the stick. Frisk chucked the wood as hard as the could, and both dogs immediately dropped their weapons to chase after it. Becca was already relaxing next to Frisk, recognizing this tactic now. Sandro still seemed amused, but a little upset still. Frisk would need to comfort him.

 

When all three of them were done playing fetch, the dogs’ eyes were sparkling with joy. Despite being clearly older dogs, they looked like puppies with their bodies wiggling from their joy. They pecked each other quickly on the lips before sweeping up their axes and once again surrounding the children.

 

“Let’s kick human tail!!” Dogamy crowed while Dogressa asked, “(Do humans have tails?)” The large axes came down, chopping near them. There was no way to dodge completely out of the way. The children backed towards each other in the middle.

 

“Under!” Frisk called, pointing at the gap that was big enough to duck through under the blades before they came down. Sandro and Frisk, being smaller, went in one direction while Becca went in the other. Frisk ducked down and rolled under the blade as Sandro kept low until they were both on the other side without damage. Frisk’s heart was in their throat. Their foot had come very close to the blade. The image of their leg being chopped off had them trembling.

 

The dogs appeared to be reevaluating the scents of the children even as they seemed distracted. Frisk didn’t think that they were all that interested in fighting anymore. If anything they seemed to want the stick back. Frisk would’ve gladly continued to play with them, but they were freezing and didn’t want another chance with those axes. Sandro and Frisk returned to the middle with Becca as the girl took her turn. She glanced at Frisk, who shook their head. She sighed and put her weapon away as she Spared the dogs.

 

“Weird smells can bring good things . . .” Dogamy murmured while Dogressa added cheerfully, “(Friendly fun fetch!)” They smiled brightly at their children, eyes glittering with happiness. “Thanks, weird smells.” “(It sure was fun to ‘stick’ together!)”

 

Becca coughed to cover her laugh as Sandro smiled as well. The dogs moved to leave, hefting their axes over their shoulders, but Sandro stopped them. “Friends, do you believe me to be a human?” He asked.

 

“Weird smells smell like Sandro.” “(Sandro smells like weird smell.)” The dogs seemed to consider this, watching each other and communicating silently. “Then Sandro . . .” “( . . . Must be human!)”

 

“What . . . what will you do with us?” He asked, worried now.

 

The dogs shrugged. “Human smell brought fun stick.” “(Humans are fun.)” They decided. That appeared to be the end of their talk as they linked paws and hurried off. The children watched them go before turning to each other. Becca placed her hands on her hips.

 

“It looks like you ain’t safe either.” She informed the boy.

 

Sandro didn’t appear too worried, although there was a crease in his brow. “Yeah. I guess more humans mean more chance of attack?”

 

“Capture.” Frisk corrected softly.

 

“No, it means we can protect each other more!” Becca denied. She turned to Frisk. “I’m not sure your pacifism will always work. Especially with your stick.”

 

“The stick was a good idea! We will probably see Greater Dog later! He loves attention!” Sandro added. So there was at least one more dog they would have to face.

 

“Seriously though.” Becca grabbed Frisk’s shoulder to bring their attention back to her. Her eyes were understanding, but hard. “Frisk, we have to be prepared to Fight if necessary.”

 

“If necessary.” Frisk repeated, ducking from her hand and continuing down the path. “But until then . . .” They left the sentence hanging.

 

She didn’t respond to that.

 

They carefully made their way down the hill together to find a strange set up. There were rocks arranged in a sideways H-pattern with two X’s on either side. There was also a large switch. Sandro gaped a little, surprised. “This is new!” He announced.

 

“What . . . is this?” Becca murmured as they approached the stuff. Frisk noticed a sign nearby and pointed to it. Becca nodded as she joined them and read, “‘Turn every X into an O. Then press the switch.’ Oh, that’s easy enough.”

 

Sandro stepped onto the rocks before jumping and landing on one of the X’s. Immediately it turned into a red O. Frisk ran to the other and also turned that one as Becca went to press the switch. The children turned to hear spikes disappear again. Frisk hadn’t even noticed them. They blinked as they realized Papyrus was standing on the other side. Sandro grinned at the sight of the skeleton and waved cheerfully.

 

“ _Hola_ Papyrus!” He called.

 

Papyrus spun around and appeared delighted to see the children again even as he cried out in annoyance, “WHAT?! HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP? AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME???” He smiled hopefully.

 

“What do we tell him?” Becca asked quietly. “Would he get upset if we said we left it?”

 

“Nah. Papyrus does not get upset easy.” Sandro waved off her concern and called out, “We left it!”

 

“REALLY!?” Papyrus asked. “WOWIE . . . YOU RESISTED THE FLAVOR OF MY HOMECOOKED PASTA JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME???”

 

Frisk nodded in agreement to that, although the guilt in the face of their lie clearly appeared on their face. Becca looked away from Papyrus’s earnest smile. Only Sandro seemed unrepentant.

 

“FRET NOT HUMANS (AND SANDRO)! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT!”

 

“Please do not.” Sandro said.

 

Papyrus either didn’t hear him, or he ignored him as he laughed giddily and wandered off again. The children followed after him. Surprisingly he didn’t turn around to attack them despite how they walked with him.

 

“More puzzles?” Frisk asked the skeleton.

 

“CORRECT!” Papyrus grinned at the small human before he came to a stop. “YOU KNOW, MY BROTHER TOLD ME HE WAS FRIENDS WITH ONE OF YOU HUMANS! WHICH ONE?” Becca raised her hand. Papyrus appeared even more delighted. “NICE TO MEET YOU! UH.” He leaned down to Sandro and whispered loudly, “SANDRO, WHAT ARE THOSE HUMANS’ NAMES?”

 

“ _Ella es Becca y él es Frisk._ ” Sandro pointed to the corresponding human.

 

“I SEE. WELL HELLO THEN! MY BROTHER NEVER TOLD ME HE WAS FRIENDS WITH HUMANS BEFORE! I’M KIND OF JEALOUS!” Papyrus caught himself then and shook himself, “I MEAN!! I’M UPSET HE NEVER TOLD ME SO I COULD TAKE YOU TO THE CAPITAL!!”

 

“Sandro is a human too, you know.” Becca pointed out.

 

Papyrus reared back in shock. “SANDRO! IS THIS TRUE??”

 

“ _Sí._ ” Sandro said, amused.

 

“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?? YOU ARE QUITE CRAFTY!” Papyrus tried not to look impressed.

 

Sandro shrugged. “Never came up, my friend.”

 

“TRUE . . . TRUE . . .”  Papyrus rubbed his jawbone thoughtfully. He nodded in agreement to the statement. “WELL ANYWAY, DID YOU KNOW THAT MY BROTHER RECENTLY STARTED A SOCK COLLECTION?” He asked.

 

“No?” Becca and Frisk shook their heads, confused by the topic change. Sandro began to giggle a bit over the topic of socks, but Frisk couldn’t understand why.

 

“IT’S VERY SADDENING.” Papyrus denied, looking more annoyed about the fact despite Sandro’s smothered laughter. “SOMETIMES I WONDER WHAT HE WOULD DO WITHOUT SUCH A COOL GUY TAKING CARE OF HIM???”

 

“Are you talking about you?” Becca asked somewhat dubiously.

 

“ABSOLUTELY!! NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus laughed.

 

Frisk decided it would probably be more prudent to move on before Becca managed to upset anyone. They were starting to realize she was a bit ruder than they had thought. They pointed further down the path where they could see more rocks set up. It looked like another puzzle. Papyrus walked with them as they wandered over to the new puzzle.

 

Papyrus cleared his throat loudly to get their attention, his friendliness fading to something a bit more serious. Frisk was finding it more and more entertaining. Papyrus was a good person, they decided. “HUMANS! HMM . . . HOW DO I SAY THIS . . . YOU ALL WERE TAKING A LONG TIME TO ARRIVE, SO I DECIDED TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE.” Frisk couldn’t really tell from where they were standing, but the various X’s and rocks and large clumps of snow didn’t particularly look like Papyrus. Well . . . maybe if they turned their head a bit . . . ? “UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND. NOW THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT!” He cried, annoyed more at the snow than with himself. “AND, AS USUAL, MY LAZY BROTHER IS NOWHERE AROUND. MAYBE HE ACTUALLY WENT BACK TO WORK FINALLY.”  

 

“I SUPPOSE WHAT I’M SAYING IS . . .” Papyrus posed dramatically, his head tilted towards a spotlight that wasn’t there and his cape began to blow once again in a breeze that shouldn’t be there. Frisk wondered if that was magic, “WORRY NOT, HUMANS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM! THEN WE CAN ALL PROCEED!” He dropped his arms and shrugged cheerfully as his expert eyes gazed at the puzzle. “MEANWHILE, FEEL FREE TO TRY THE PUZZLE YOURSELF! I’LL TRY NOT TO GIVE AWAY THE ANSWER!!!”

 

Sandro groaned a little at the sight of all of the X’s on the ground. “I had such a hard time solving this the FIRST time!” He complained.

 

“It can’t be THAT hard.” Becca said, already moving around to try to solve the solution. Unfortunately if any of them stepped on an X, it turned into an O. And if they stepped on an O, it turned into a triangle. It would not turn back into an X afterwards. They learned the hard way that they needed to press the switch to reset the puzzle. Three attempts went into it, but the children were a bit chaotic in their movements.

 

“One person.” Frisk finally decided, stopping Becca and Sandro from following them. They pointed to Becca. “We’ll tell you where to walk?” They suggested.

 

“Okay.” The girl sighed and watched as Frisk and Sandro hurried to the side of the maze. There was a decent space to walk between the puzzle and the edge of the cliff, so Frisk wasn’t too worried despite Becca’s nervous glance. She seemed to be a bit twitchy. Papyrus had wandered a bit further back and was leaning against one of the trees as he waited for the humans to solve the puzzle. Frisk wondered if he actually knew the answer now.

 

“That way first!” Sandro said, pointing Becca in the right direction. Becca moved, but then froze as Frisk began to walk further down the path.

 

“Frisk!!” She cried, pointing at Frisk with an amount of alarm that shouldn’t be necessary. Frisk thought they saw her Soul glow a bit in her chest before something shifted under their feet. Frisk felt their blood drain from their face as a loud crack issued. The ground crumbled beneath them and their body tilted backwards into open space.

 

Sandro didn’t hesitate. He felt his Soul glow brightly as he challenged the cliff. In a moment it seemed everything had frozen in place, waiting for him to make his move. He grabbed Frisk’s hand and yanked them towards him so they both fell backwards onto solid ground. Everything returned to normal pacing as he watched the cliff pieces fall towards the ground far below. They could feel Frisk trembling against him as he held them close. He grinned brightly.

 

“I did it!” He patted Frisk down a bit and helped the dazed human up. “That was close!”

 

Becca hunched over to catch her breath, apparently winded from the horror. “Oh God!” She gasped.

 

“Th-Thank you.” Frisk whispered, gazing at him wide-eyed. There was no way that Sandro should’ve been able to get to them in time. He had been too far away. Somehow, though, he had made it.

 

Becca seemed to be thinking the same thing as she abandoned the puzzle and hurried to join them. “What WAS that?” She asked, staring at the boy with newfound respect. He puffed up at their astonishment.

 

“I told you! I can move first!”

 

“What does that even _mean_?” Becca pressed.

 

Sandro scratched at his short hair. “I can . . . um . . . ‘challenge’ something. And I can move first. I challenged the cliff, and I got to go first! So I grabbed Frisk before the cliff could keep falling!” He paused and then added. “I can only do it once per enemy, though.”

 

“Oh!” Frisk breathed, amazed. They understood now how that would be a good power. They wondered how exactly he had discovered that power though. It made sense why he was able to go first in all of their fights now.

 

“ARE YOU ALL OKAY?” Papyrus yelled as he ran back over to the edge of the puzzle. He looked over the children thoroughly. At the sight of all of them unharmed, he relaxed. “BE CAREFUL OF THE EDGES! THEY’RE UNSTABLE!”

 

“Guess we need to take Sans’s warnings more to heart.” Becca agreed quietly.

 

“Puzzle?” Frisk asked, deciding it better to continue on with the puzzle. They didn’t want to think about how close they had once again come to dying. They may be able to Load their Saves, but falling to their death didn’t sound appealing or fun at all. They didn’t think the snow would be deep enough to take the impact. They shuddered at the thought. Becca gently brought Frisk a bit closer to her as she nodded at them.

 

“L-Let’s keep going.” She agreed, not quite able to keep the chatter out of her voice. Frisk was no longer sure if her shivers were from fear or cold. Frisk was starting to become used to being constantly cold. That probably wasn’t a good thing. How long had they been walking now? It didn’t seem that long, but it must have been a while surely?

 

Becca once again returned to the beginning of the puzzle, and this time it was easier to direct her in the right places. Frisk and Sandro kept close together. It was frustrating trying to direct Becca when Sandro kept yelling at her. The two of them bickered more often than Frisk would’ve liked, but it wasn’t something they could really stop. The girl followed Frisk’s instructions more until the puzzle was unlocked and the spikes on the far side of the puzzle dropped into the ground. All of the children were relieved by this.

 

“WOW!!!” Papyrus called, impressed. “YOU SOLVED IT!! AND YOU DID IT ALL WITHOUT MY HELP . . . INCREDIBLE! I’M IMPRESSED AT YOUR FORMIDABLE TEAMWORK!! YOU ALL MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO!”

 

“Not really.” Becca said.

 

“I am tired.” Sandro sighed.

 

“WELL, I’M SURE YOU ALL WILL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE THEN! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU!!” Papyrus again laughed as he ran around the puzzle. He deftly jumped the gap where the cliff had collapsed and disappeared through the snow. Frisk glanced up as they realized that it was starting to snow now. How was that possible?

 

Becca’s teeth began to chattered again. “I-I-I had thought it was getting colder!” She confessed. “And now it’s sn-snowing!”

 

Frisk hunched in on themselves and tucked their nose into the collar of their sweater. Only Sandro seemed fine, although he was starting to realize the problem with his friends not having proper clothing.

 

“Snowdin is not too far now!” He said as he rubbed Frisk and Becca’s arms. Becca flinched away from him, but Frisk only frowned at the touchiness in confusion. They enjoyed the warmth of the friction, though. “I do not remember a puzzle up ahead, though. It must be new.”

 

“Gr-Great.” Becca muttered. The children went ahead and travelled through the puzzle maze and over to the spikes rather than risk walking along the edge again. They had to watch their feet as they stepped over snow mounds and rocked, but lifted their heads to see Sans standing on the other side of the spike holes. He grinned and gave a short wave to them.

 

“good job on solving it so quickly.” He praised, nodding to the puzzle. “you didn’t even need my help.”

 

“You weren’t even around!” Becca objected.

 

“it’s good though, ‘cause i love doing absolutely nothing.” He winked at them. He pulled a hand out of his pocket and kneeled down to pick up some white jackets Frisk hadn’t noticed that were next to him. He held one out to both Frisk and Becca. “might need these.” He suggested.

 

“Oh thank you!” Becca cried, taking the jacket easily and slipping it on. Frisk nodded with a smile to him as they also pulled theirs on. It was extremely bulky on them and hung more on their form than Becca’s did, even though hers was also too big. Frisk could already feel how warm it was with the fur lining the insides. They zipped up their coat and put their hood up cheerfully, feeling better now.

 

“i’ll lend you those for free. just return ‘em when you get to snowdin. cuz, you know, they’re not mine.”

 

Becca opened her mouth to question whose they were, but then thought better of it. She knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Okay.” She said instead.

 

“Let us see what Papyrus’s next puzzle is!” Sandro said, already nudging his friends along. They only had enough time to wave goodbye to Sans before the three children disappeared into the falling snow.


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk, Sandro, and Becca are roped into quite the trap by Papyrus.  
> Also Sans is a dick to children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in this chapter I'm jumping POVs around between the three children because Frisk is not the only main character. As such, be warned of the switching povs. If possible I would like to keep this as the norm, but if it's too confusing please let me know! I want to be sure this is a comfortable set up.
> 
> Also note that Sandro doesn't refer to Frisk as "they" because he sees Frisk as a male. That may be the most confusing part in the switching povs until it is properly addressed. Again, please let me know!
> 
> That all said, thanks to my wonderful friend for coming up with the puzzle in this chapter! And thank you for my beta joviamod!

Bundled up in the warm furred jackets, the children were in better moods as they carried on. The icy mist and the snow obscured their vision, but they didn’t let it get them down. Well, Sandro didn’t let it get him down. He was used to the snow by now. He pulled out of his snow goggles from his inventory and slipped them on, shooting a grin at Becca and Frisk as he pulled up his hood as well. It probably wasn’t the best idea for Sans to have given both of his friends white coats right when it was beginning to storm, but Sandro had never known Sans to be particularly tactful on that kind of stuff. Helpful? Yes. Kind of a jerk? Also yes.

 

“I wonder where Papyrus went?” He questioned aloud as he shoved his hands into his pockets. Frisk was still shivering, practically swallowed up in his large coat as he huddled more into it. He didn’t say anything in response to his question. Sandro didn’t really understand why he didn’t seem to like talking much, but he wasn’t about to bother him for answers. Besides, Becca seemed to always make up for Frisk’s lack of responses.

 

“Probably right ahead.” Becca muttered, her voice a bit muffled from her own coat. The collar of her jacket was taller than either of the other children’s, so the lower half of her face was better protected from the elements. Sandro somewhat regretted not bringing his scarf with him, but he preferred his manly bandana. It made him feel stronger and more sturdy. It was the abs, he was sure.

 

Becca grabbed Frisk suddenly and pulled them close to her. The kid looked at her in surprise, and Sandro noticed that her body was doing that glowing thing it occasionally did. Her light blue Soul was glowing, which meant she was seeing something Sandro couldn’t. Frisk tilted his head to the side, confused.

 

“The edge is there.” Becca warned, pointing. Frisk squinted (or . . . squinted more? To Sandro he barely opened his eyes much) and realized his mistake as the snow cleared just enough to reveal the thin ledge they were all at. Sandro had forgotten it was there. The cliff suddenly seemed a lot more dangerous after Frisk had nearly fallen off earlier.

 

“ _ Aquí. _ ” He bolding grabbed Becca’s sleeve and led both her and Frisk across the bridge that spanned the small gaps between the cliffs. Far down below he could somewhat make out the trees and a few houses of residents on the lower levels. Frisk breathed a sigh of relief once they were all safe. “All good!” Sandro grinned. “You have become better with your power, Becca!” 

 

Becca made a small face before she allowed the compliment to sink in. “I guess.” She agreed.

 

Sandro opened up his mouth to persist (because she  _ had _ gotten better at it, he thought!) when Papyrus’s voice rang out through the snow.

 

“HEY! IT’S THE HUMANS!” Through the snow the children saw Papyrus standing on the far side of the clearing, his hands on his hipbones. “BEHOLD!!” He motioned in front of him to a strange set up. There appeared to be two paths drawn into the snow with some small rocks outlining various squares. Becca thought it looked a bit like hopscotch. There were X’s and question marks in some of the boxes. Following along the edge of one of the paths were a couple of bored looking monsters. Frisk recognized Ice Caps and Snowdrakes. Sans also stood in line with them at the front, his eyes closed as he appeared to be falling asleep. Frisk did a double take, wondering how Sans had managed to beat them there. They were almost positive he could teleport now.

 

“YOU’RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE!” Papyrus drew their attention back to him. He narrowed his eyes shrewdly at them. “I’VE BEEN WATCHING YOU ALL VERY CLOSELY, HUMANS. AND I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IN ORDER FOR YOU TO MEET YOUR DOWNFALL, YOU MUST BE SEPARATED!!” He paused and shot a glare at Sandro. “OF COURSE I WASN’T EXPECTING SANDRO TO BECOME A HUMAN AS WELL, SO I DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO MAKE A THIRD PATH . . . NEVERTHELESS!” He crossed his arms over his armored chest proudly, widening his stance. “TO COMPLETE THE PUZZLE AND PROCEED FURTHER YOU'LL HAVE TO DIVIDE IN 2!!! TEAMS!!! BUT REALLY, YOU'RE STILL PART OF THE SAME TEAM. TWO PARTS OF THE SAME TEAM!! SO. SPLIT UP!” He motioned for them to separate.

 

Frisk and Becca glanced at each other warily, but Sandro was already moving. He dashed over to stand at the end of the path with the monsters waiting, bouncing up and down with excitement. He waved and chatted rapidly with some of the monsters. One of the Snowdrakes looked familiar. Becca and Frisk were left to decide what they wanted to do. They didn’t know what the other path held in terms of traps and such. 

 

“I’ll go over here.” Becca finally said. Quieter, she added, “Go with Sandro. Just in case.”

 

Frisk thought Sandro would do fine on his own, but they agreed with Becca’s plan anyway. It may be easier to go alone. She was bigger than both Sandro and Frisk, so maybe she wanted to have more room in the squares herself? They didn’t know. They walked over to join Sandro and waited for Papyrus’s next instructions. Papyrus appeared pleased with the set up. He moved to stand between the two paths. The other monsters shifted a little in a bit of anticipation. Sandro was practically vibrating with excitement.

 

“NOW THEN! THE RULES ARE QUITE SIMPLE, REALLY. THE X ARE TRAPS AND THE QUESTION MARKS ARE CHALLENGES. IF TEAM A WINS A CHALLENGE, TEAM B CAN PROCEED. BUT!! IF THEY LOSE!! THEY WILL ACTIVATE THE OTHER TEAM'S TRAP!! AND SOMETHING REALLY BAD WILL HAPPEN!!! NYEHEHHEHEHEHEH!!"

 

Becca crossed her arms and looked vaguely worried. Frisk peered around Sandro to gaze at the paths on the ground again. There were a lot of X’s and question marks considering there were only about six or seven squares to a path.

 

“Sounds fun, sounds fun!” Sandro muttered under his breath, still bouncing in place.

 

“TEAM A WILL BE CHALLENGED BY THE MONSTERS!” Papyrus motioned to the monsters standing in line. “ARE YOU SCARED YET? COWERING IN YOUR COLLECTIVE BOOTS??” 

 

Frisk glanced at Sans napping and decided that, no, they weren’t super scared. At least they knew how to deal with these monsters. They decided it more prudent not to say that.

 

“But what about this path?” Becca called, pointing to her own path which was clear of any real signs of danger or challenges.

 

“GOOD QUESTION, BECCA HUMAN!” Papyrus spun in place once in the snows and landed with a stomp, pointing at the second path. “THIS SIDE IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PATH FULL OF TREACHEROUS CHALLENGES GIVEN TO YOU BY ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!! I, RIDDLEMASTER PAPYRUS, SHALL ASK YOU A SERIES OF . . . QUESTIONS!! AND!! RIDDLES!!” He paused as if expecting some dramatic fanfare. Maybe a thunderclap. None came. The snow continued to drift gently onto them all.

 

Papyrus looked slightly annoyed. “SANS!!!” He yelled, still posing. Sans blinked his eyes open from his slumber, looking at his brother. “YOU MISSED YOUR CUE!” Papyrus hissed. 

 

“oh.” Sans grabbed a handle that was hidden in the snow and pulled out a boombox. He pressed the play button, and dramatic music started playing. Sandro began laughing a bit loudly, but muffled himself so the music could be heard. Papyrus stared at Sans for a long moment before returning back to his original idea.

 

“A SERIES OF . . . QUESTIONS!! AND!! RIDDLES!!” He posed dramatically again as the music thundered ominously. The children blinked. The skeleton sighed and slumped some. “THE EFFECT IS RUINED.” He stood up straighter in the middle of the two paths. “YOU ARE QUITE LUCKY, HUMANS,” He returned to his bravado, “THAT MORE MONSTERS DID NOT VOLUNTEER TO HELP ME CAPTURE YOU!! TRY TO REACH THE END TOGETHER! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE RULES?”

 

Becca thought that the game was kind of confusing to be honest, but she had always learned better through trial and error. Hopefully Frisk and Sandro would do well enough over on their side. They weren’t too far from each other, after all, and there wasn’t really anything stopping her from running over there or vice versa. She hoped that Frisk and Sandro had enough healing items at least.

 

“GREAT! THEN LET’S BEGIN!!” Sans switched the track to some tense music that seemed appropriate.

 

The children glanced at each other once. In the snow before Frisk and Sandro was a question mark while Becca’s first square was an X. It appeared Frisk and Sandro would have the first challenge. All three children stepped forward onto their squares, and the ground beneath the younger children dinged. Frisk expected a Snowdrake to step up, but shockingly Sans joined them in the square. Sandro practically shoved Frisk downward to climb past them. 

 

“We can fight you first?!” He cried, practically beside himself with his joy.

 

“yup.” Sans stuck his hands into his pockets, his eyes only slightly drooping. Frisk didn’t think he looked especially tired, but maybe he was? It was hard to tell on a skeleton. Sandro didn’t mind, however. Sans was always napping. He had fought Papyrus many times, but it would be the first he got to fight his brother. 

 

“YES!! LET’S DO THIS!!” The boy yelled, pumping his fist in the air as the three fighters stepped out of the square and the humans’ Souls were summoned to battle. 

 

“Don’t forget I’m on a trap!” Becca called over the boy’s hooting. Frisk gave her a thumbs up in understanding as she glanced at the X she was standing on. She considered just stepping back out of the game seeing as she could just go up the middle path undisturbed, but Papyrus waved a gloved finger at her, seeming to guess what she was thinking.

 

“DON’T YOU DARE STEP OUT OF THE TRAP, HUMAN!” He grinned. “YOU MAY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO AVOID MY MAZE LAST TIME, BUT NOW YOU SHOULD FEEL QUITE ‘TRAPPED’! YOU SEE, IF YOU STEP OUT OF A TRAP SQUARE, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY TRIGGER IT AND YOU SHALL HAVE TO DEAL WITH WHATEVER CONSEQUENCES AWAIT YOU!!”

 

Becca made a face. Of course that’s how it worked. Somehow Papyrus had become quite skilled at puzzle-making. She suspected Sans had a role in it. 

 

With the battle triggered, Sandro prepared himself to go first. However, he hesitated to actually attack as he realized just how  _ weak _ Sans was. The guy clearly wasn’t a fighter. Sandro wasn’t so sure that his attack wouldn’t accidentally kill him. Sans watched him, waiting for Sandro’s move. The boy’s hands itched to strike out and test how much of his strength he could hold back. His attack strength was strong though considering how much fighting experience he actually had. He didn’t need high LV to have good strength. Video games didn’t always work like that!

 

Reluctantly, Sandro Spared Sans and refused to attack.

 

Frisk smiled at Sandro. Sans’s eye sockets sparkled with some kind of interest.

 

Frisk wasn’t sure what to do either. They didn’t have any idea of how to approach Sans. He didn’t exactly feel threatening to them. Maybe he was going to do something funny instead? He had been helpful thus far. They trusted him. However, Sparing didn’t appear to be the right answer at the moment. Sans clearly had something planned. So Frisk threw their stick. It landed silently next to Sans in the snow. He didn’t move to pick it up. Frisk had to run over and grab the stick instead. They saw Becca sigh and drop her face into her hands.

 

“INTERESTING TECHNIQUE . . .” Papyrus murmured loudly, rubbing his jawbone. 

 

“I do not think that works for skeletons.” Sandro whispered to Frisk. They shrugged. It had been worth a shot.

 

“alright then.” Sans said, rolling his head on his neck as if to stretch it. “get ready.”

 

Frisk and Sandro tensed as he pulled one of his hands out of his pocket and they felt magic tingle across their skin. A small bone, about the size of Frisk’s foot, popped out of the snow and approached them at a leisurely pace. Both children stared at it. It was going slower than walking pace. Frisk had time to glance at Sandro as the boy moved forward and stepped over the bone. They couldn’t tell if he was more disappointed, annoyed, or whether he was trying not to pity Sans. Frisk was grateful, though. They supposed that Sans didn’t actually want to fight. Or he was trying to annoy his brother.

 

They also stepped over the bone, and it disappeared as it reached the end of their battle arena. Sans wiped his forehead of imaginary sweat. “phew. well, i’m beat. you win kiddos.” The children’s Souls were released as the battle ended.

 

“SANS!!!” Papyrus screamed, stomping his foot furiously. “YOU DIDN’T TRY AT ALL!! IF YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BE SERIOUS, THEN GO TO WORK!!!”

 

“hey, relax.” Sans told his brother, shrugging. “work won’t mind that i’m here. there’s no need to get  _ hopping  _ mad.”

 

“SANS!!!” Papyrus yelled again. 

 

“by the way . . .” Sans held out two pieces of “fried snow” to Sandro and Frisk. “you won on your first try, so here’s your prize.” Frisk had a feeling the fried snow would do absolutely nothing. It was already melting in their hands. Sandro at least attempted to eat it. 

 

Despite the brothers’ turmoil, the X beneath Beca’s feet turned into a green O, and so she stepped into the next square. Frisk and Sandro moved forward as well, this time landing on a trap. Papyrus spun around to confront the girl. He cleared his throat and straightened up. “HUMAN! YOU HAVE LANDED NOW ON A QUESTION SQUARE! A RIDDLE FOR YOU, THEN!” He paused only to think about the question or riddle. Becca swallowed. She was good at puzzles, but maybe she should’ve left Frisk to this. Even though the kid didn’t really talk much.

 

“WHO . . .” Papyrus asked, grinning widely, “IS THE MOST POPULAR IN THE UNDERGROUND?”

 

Becca froze, opening her mouth and closing it for a moment. That . . . that wasn’t a riddle!! That wasn’t even a legitimate question! She looked to Sans for help, but he just grinned at her, helplessly amused. Sandro and Frisk pointed at Papyrus. Frisk raised their eyebrows imperatively. Becca really didn’t want to answer the question. Knowing her luck, she’d be wrong. But she didn’t have any other answers and Papyrus was . . . surprisingly simple.

 

She turned back to him and smiled, although it was wobbly and a bit forced. “Um . . . i-is the answer . . . Papyrus?”

 

Papyrus gasped. “WOWIE!!! DO YOU REALLY THINK SO?” His hands clasped together in his glee. “YOU’RE SUCH A NICE PERSON!! AND OF COURSE YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!” He chuckled and ran a gloved hand over his head. “WELL . . . I SOON WILL BE, ONCE I CAPTURE YOU ALL!! PROCEED!!”

 

Becca dropped her head so that her hair hid her rolling eyes as all three children stepped forward onto the next squares. Once again another monster stepped forward to challenge Frisk and Sandro. The Snowdrake flapped forward and hopped briefly as it set itself for the battle. Sandro proved his eagerness to Fight as he struck out first at the Snowdrake. It was enough to knock the monster’s health down, but not enough to seriously damage it. Still Frisk didn’t like it. They were uncomfortable with attacking poor monsters. They were just helping Papyrus out, after all! (They were sure Becca would scold them for thinking that way). Frisk made sure to laugh at the monster’s pun when it said it, and soon enough the battle was over. If all the monsters were that easy to defeat, Frisk would be glad.

 

Things followed in that route. Once again Becca landed on a question square. Papyrus jumped to join her in the square, laughing gaily at the predicament Sandro and Frisk were in on their trap square. He turned to Becca and put his hands on his hips.

 

“HUMAN! YOUR NEXT QUESTION TO SOLVE! WHAT IS . . . WHITE AND TALL AND COOL ALL OVER?” He frowned. “OR WAS IT, TALL AND COOL AND WHITE ALL OVER . . . ? EITHER WAY, ANSWER THE QUESTION!”

 

Becca closed her eyes and allowed herself to hide her face a bit more in the collar of her jacket. Her head was starting to hurt. She really wanted some warm real food, and she wanted to stop with all of these puzzles. She was starting to wonder if leaving the Ruins was worth it. She took a breath to comfort herself and thought,  _ Well, it could be worse. _

 

“Is it . . . Papyrus?” She asked hesitantly. Logically she knew he couldn’t possibly give her a question with the same answer twice . . . but Papyrus was good at surprising her. She didn’t get to hear his answer, though, as the image of Sandro plummeting down a hole in the snow and his shout of shock flashed through her mind. Her Soul hummed with magic and between one blink and the next she was spinning in the snow to call out to Sandro loudly.

 

“Hm?” Sandro hummed, curious as he and Frisk escaped the trap without any distress. When she didn’t say anything, he shrugged and turned to face their newest opponent. Becca’s Soul was still humming with warning. The future had yet to happen. Her vision could still come true. Papyrus was already ushering her along onto her own trap square. Frisk shot Becca a confused look, tensing some as they realized she must have seen something. They seemed to debate whether to stick closer to Sandro to protect him or step away so that both of them wouldn’t get hurt. 

 

Becca didn’t doubt that Frisk and Sandro could easily defeat all of the monsters they would come up against (if Frisk could just get a  _ little bit better _ at dodging, Becca wouldn’t have to worry so much), so it depended on her to make sure they all made it to the end without being “captured” by Papyrus. She was prepared as Papyrus opened his mouth to once again give her another question (hopefully about himself), but Sans decided to butt in.

 

“hey . . . papyrus.” Sans called from where he stood next to the radio so he could rewind the music back to the beginning. Papyrus stopped himself from what he had been about to say. “all of your questions have had the same answer so far.”

 

“THAT IS BECAUSE THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING IS . . . PAPYRUS!!” Papyrus cried with delight.

 

Sans chuckled a little and paused the music now that it was fully rewound. “i’ll have to find scientific proof of that.”

 

“SPEAKING OF WHICH, WHY AREN’T YOU AT WORK YET??”

 

“how ‘bout i ask the kids a question?” Sans suggested, completely ignoring his brother’s query. He was grinning mischievously as his eyes met Becca. Becca tensed ever so slightly, but she wasn’t too worried. She had heard plenty of Sans’s jokes before. With any luck, it would be a knock knock joke. That counted as a question, right?

 

Sans loved being a dick, apparently, as he instead asked, “why did the chicken cross the road?”

 

Becca gaped a little. “That’s . . . that’s not fair!” She cried, a bit outraged. “There are multiple answers to that question!!”

 

“guess you better answer correctly then.” Sans responded and turned the music back on. It thundered ominously again.

 

Becca struggled to come up with a good answer. Her knee-jerk reaction was to say “to get to the other side”, but Sans was known for his puns. She was certain that it had to be a pun. The problem was that there were  _ numerous _ answers to such a stupid old question. It was Joking 101! If she got it wrong, it meant that she risked getting two of the humans captured. She couldn’t allow their Majesties to get ahold of more human Souls!

 

Frisk waved their hands back and forth to catch the girl’s attention. “To cockadoodle-doo something?” They suggested in their soft voice. They couldn’t seem to make it much louder. 

 

“No no no! That is a rooster!” Sandro denied. “Try ‘to impress the chicks’!” He paused and then frowned. “Wait . . .”

 

“NO HELPING!! YOU THREE ARE A TEAM, BUT ONLY BECCA CAN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS!!” Papyrus interrupted their thinking. 

 

Becca didn’t think either of them had the correct answer anyway. Frisk was on the right track, but not Sandro. She thought about it only for a few moments more before she decided on what would be the proper pun answer. “She didn’t know.” She told Sans. “She was just  _ winging _ it.”

 

Sans laughed and Papyrus groaned. Becca grinned, happy to have gotten the answer right, until Sans shook his head. “tough luck, kiddo. you’re wrong. it was ‘to get to the other side’.”

 

The ground beneath Frisk and Sandro suddenly dropped away. Both children cried out and plummeted into the darkness. “NO!!” Becca screamed, hands flying to her mouth at the sight while Papyrus laughed at his success. Becca wheeled on Sans, furious tears building in her eyes. “What happened to keeping an eye on us?” She demanded.

 

Sans seemed unrepentant. “fair’s fair, pal.”

 

Becca opened her mouth to say some rather nasty words she was sure her mother would turn her over her knee and beat her bottom for, but Sans was rescued from a brutal yelling at by noises coming from the hole. Frisk was scrambling up from the hole, clawing their way out and back onto the snow. There was just enough room left in the square for Frisk to teeter precariously on the ledge. Becca was awash with relief.

 

“You’re alright!” She called.

 

Frisk nodded back, looking shaken but fine. They peered back down the hole as Becca heard Sandro yell, “I am fine as well! Keep going with the game!”

 

“ONE HUMAN SUCCESSFULLY CAPTURED THANKS TO MY MASTERFUL WORK ON THIS TRAP!!” Papyrus praised himself, oblivious to the tension radiating from Becca. Frisk and Becca shared a look and nodded to each other. Frisk had yet to battle on their own, but Becca trusted them to do well. These were monsters they had faced before, after all, and any new ones they could learn. 

 

“Here!” Becca called, and pulled out her Nice Cream from her inventory. She doubted she would need it, so after they both moved into their next squares she tossed the package over. Frisk caught and fumbled it a bit before holding steady. They smiled in thanks as the next monster called their Soul out. 

 

Frisk had been nervous to fight a monster on their own for the first time, but admittedly it was a bit easier. They didn’t need to worry about space, so they could dodge better. Unfortunately they didn’t have the buffer room of watching their teammates try their hands at battling. The monsters’ attacks, rather than being split up amongst two fighters, were focused solely on Frisk. They were a little put out to notice that their dodging wasn’t quite up to par. They still had a couple squares left, so they were glad to have Becca’s Nice Cream. They just wished that they didn’t have to use it. The cold was bad enough.

 

When Becca’s turn came again, both humans expected another ridiculous question from either Sans or Papyrus, but for once Papyrus had an actual riddle for them. He chuckled to himself. “ARE YOU READY, HUMAN? I, RIDDLEMASTER PAPYRUS, HAVE QUITE THE RIDDLE FOR YOU! E-HEM!” He crossed his arms and asked, 

 

“‘I WAS GOING DOWN TO THE MARKET AND I MET A MONSTER WITH HIS SEVEN COUSINS. 

EACH COUSIN HAD SEVEN BASKETS. 

EVERY BASKET HELD SEVEN KITTENS. 

AND EACH KITTEN HAD SEVEN SAPPHIRES. 

SAPPHIRES, KITTENS, BASKETS, COUSINS . . . HOW MANY WENT DOWN TO THE MARKET?’”

 

Frisk blanched at the question. This sounded like it should be a trick. Or, at the very least, required a lot of math to figure out. Frisk could do math fine, but they weren’t sure how to do it without paper. Would Becca just use the snow? Did she know mental math? She had been down in the Underground for five years . . . who would’ve taught her? Frisk eyed the trap they were on nervously. Would they be joining Sandro in another hole? They didn’t have him to boost them up to climb out again.

 

“MATH ISN’T FAIR!!” Sandro yelled.

 

Becca only had to think for a moment, though. She smiled confidently and said, “Only one did!” Frisk looked at her in bafflement, before understanding dawned and Papyrus reluctantly allowed her to proceed. Frisk clapped. Sandro cheered from his hole.

 

“VERY CLEVER, HUMAN . . . BUT WILL YOU BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT THE LAST RIDDLE?” Papyrus asked. After Frisk’s final battle, there was one question left between Frisk and Becca and the end of the game. When Frisk had finished the last battle, they watched as Sans thanked the monsters who had helped them. He even subtly slipped them what looked to be a bit of gold (probably to make up for the gold the monsters had lost battling the children). The monsters left, some rubbing at their wounds from Sandro and some waving goodbye to Papyrus. Papyrus cheerfully waved goodbye back and called a thank you before he suddenly spun to face Becca.

 

“HUMANS! YOU HAVE REACHED THE END OF THE PUZZLE! BUT DO NOT THINK YOU ARE SAFE YET! FOR MY LAST RIDDLE . . . IS THE TOUGHEST OF THEM ALL!!” Becca nodded seriously in understanding. Anything could happen, she had come to understand. She couldn’t underestimate Papyrus. Frisk’s safety was relying on her. She didn’t know what she would do if she got both Frisk and Sandro captured. “ALRIGHT THEN! HERE IS THE RIDDLE:   
  


“ALONE OR WITH OTHERS, I STAND UPRIGHT,

THE OUTFIT TIGHT, MY DRESS IS WHITE.

MY CROWN IT GLOWS WITH YELLOW AND RED,

BUT IF I WEAR IT TOO MUCH, I WILL BE DEAD.

WHAT AM I?”

 

Becca’s mind flew into action, half in horror at the fact Papyrus had given her a legitimate riddle. She didn’t know the answer to this one immediately. She couldn’t think well under the pressure. She shot a look at Frisk, hoping they could help, but their face was stricken with their own confusion. They would be no help.

 

Papyrus’s laughter at Becca’s silence wasn’t helping. “IS IT TOO DIFFICULT, HUMAN? IT CERTAINLY WAS FOR ME!”

 

“man, buddy, you ain’t looking too  _ hot _ .” Sans said, joining his brother near the top of the puzzle. He put a strange amount of emphasis on the word. Becca narrowed her eyes at him in confusion. “ain’t looking too  _ bright _ either.” He continued, smiling mysteriously.

 

Becca frowned. Was he . . . trying to help her? If he was, then that meant the answer had something to do with heat and light. Fire was the first thing that popped into her mind, but fire didn’t fit the riddle. So something that had to have fire with it? The thought of fire made her think of warm hearths and s’mores. She longed for heat right then. She missed the little dusty house that had been her home back in the Ruins.

 

Remembering the Ruins brought back memories of her training. Riddles weren’t her forte, but she had  _ other _ skills. Ones that she could put to use if she tried. She only hoped that her Soul would respond.

 

She closed her eyes and focused. Her Soul was a familiar presence in her chest, calm and patient as she reached out for the magic housed there. She felt the light blue magic flood her body, and she asked for the answer to the riddle. In response, she caught sight of countless possible futures in her mind, but only one stuck out: a future where Sans’s hints had clicked in her mind. 

 

The answer was right there.

 

“GIVE UP?” Papyrus asked, his voice a little more gentle even as he waited excitedly for Becca to give in. Frisk could see the light blue glow on the girl’s body, barely visible through the white snow. They glanced briefly at Papyrus and Sans, but only one of the skeletons seemed to have taken notice of the glow. Sans’s eye sockets were fixed on Becca, the focus in them too intense for the casual watching he had been doing earlier. Was Sans aware of their magic powers? Frisk wasn’t so sure that was a good thing.

 

“No, I don’t give up!” Becca finally lifted her head, her eyes popping open with a newfound understanding within them. “The answer is ‘a candle’!”

 

Papyrus gaped. “IMPOSSIBLE!! HOW DID YOU FIGURE OUT SUCH A BAFFLING RIDDLE?? HUMAN, YOU ARE MUCH BETTER AT THIS THEN I WOULD’VE THOUGHT!” He grinned at her joyfully. “WOWIE, YOU MUST LOVE RIDDLES JUST AS MUCH AS I DO!! PUZZLES OF THE MIND ARE STILL PUZZLES, AFTER ALL!! NYEH-HEH-HEH!” His playfulness faded some as he became a bit serious again. “WITH THIS, YOU TWO HAVE MADE IT PAST MY CLEVER PUZZLE! HOWEVER . . .” 

 

He ran past Frisk and Becca over to the trap Sandro had fallen into. Somehow Sans was already over there, his hand holding onto a sulking Sandro’s arm. Neither Frisk nor Becca had noticed him pull Sandro out of the hole. “YOU MAY HAVE DEFEATED MY PUZZLE, HUMANS, BUT I HAVE MANAGED TO CAPTURE SANDRO!!” He scooped up the child and held him under his arm. Sandro squealed a little in surprise and with some annoyance as he kicked and flailed. Clearly he wasn’t happy to have lost the game. “TRY AS YOU MIGHT, YOU WILL BOTH BE JOINING HIM VERY SOON!!” Papyrus laughed as he turned and ran off ahead.

  
“NO, I HAVE BEEN CAPTURED!!” Sandro called back, although he sounded more like he was frustrated rather than worried. He started shouting something in Spanish, but his voice was soon swallowed up by the snow. The remaining humans looked around to search for Sans, but the shorter skeleton was gone as well. Becca and Frisk were once again alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What will happen with Sandro now that he has been captured?


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to my friends for their help and ideas! And to my beta!

They had no choice but to keep going. Standing around wouldn’t help anyone. Becca was furious and terrified, Frisk knew just by looking at her. Her jaw kept clenching and unclenching, ignoring the scenery around them both as they reentered the forest. The trees helped to block a lot of the snow, but it was still rather difficult to see. There was another sentry station here, but the guard appeared to be instead trying to build a snowman . . . or . . . snowdog? Lesser Dog seemed to be struggling though. Frisk didn’t have time to stop and help the pup. There was another monster watching the poor dog struggle, seemingly debating assisting as well. The thought that the dog would never give up on making the perfect snowdog filled Frisk with determination, and they took the opportunity to form a new Save. Becca took no notice of anything around her, the cogs in her mind turning over thoughts.

 

They exited the forest again only to find a frozen plain before them. There were Xs marking various spots on the ice that Frisk recognized they would have to turn to Os before they could proceed. There appeared to be a path on the other side of ice plain, but there was no bridge connecting it. There was a path south they could take, but Frisk suspected that the puzzle was necessary to complete before they could continue.

 

“What will we do?” Becca asked softly, her anger fading to instead bring her worry to the forefront. Frisk stopped examining the ice to look at her. There was old horror on her face, the lines beneath her eyes seeming deeper. Frisk was suddenly struck with the thought that maybe Becca hadn’t gotten enough sleep earlier. Neither of them had had a decent meal either. And Becca had been stressed since the moment they had left the Ruins. At some point along the way, Frisk had become relaxed by their surroundings and the monsters that weren’t as scary as they had suspected. Becca didn’t look like she was relaxed at all.

 

Frisk reached out and hesitantly touched her arm. She looked at them, and Frisk smiled reassuringly. Becca stared at them for a moment before dropping her eyes. Frisk recognized old trauma when they saw it. “Sandro will be okay.” They told her.

 

“How do you know?” Becca asked, her voice a bit more fragile than she probably liked.

 

“Because Sandro and Papyrus . . . are friends.” Frisk also didn’t think that Sans would actually let Sandro be taken to the capital. He had already told them that he was watching out for the children. But Frisk doubted that Becca was very happy with Sans at the moment. 

 

Becca considered this for a long moment, so Frisk added, “You can . . . use your power?”

 

Becca stared at the ice plain, and then seemed to come back to herself more. She shook her head sharply as if to clear it, and her confidence returned. She held herself straighter. Frisk was relieved at the transformation. They decided she looked much better holding herself with confidence. She was stunning that way. 

 

Becca flushed a bit, ducking her head into the collar of her coat as her cheeks darkened further. She had to tuck a loose curl back behind her ear as it fell into her face. “Ah . . . Thank you.” She murmured, clearly flustered. Frisk hadn’t realized they had spoken their thoughts aloud, but it had worked out well. The older child rubbed at her cheek before pressing onwards, “I can’t use my power yet, though. I’ve used it a lot already, and it tires me out more with each use.” She glanced across the ice plain again, her green eyes focused. “If I had some real food, I would feel a lot better. And if I had some pants rather than this skirt.” She lifted the soaked hem of the skirt as she said this. Frisk sympathized. They couldn’t feel their bare legs a whole lot.

 

“In the meantime, how about we check out what’s down there?” She pointed to the open path that led down a sharp incline. It appeared that the ice puzzle was above the ground down there. At least if either of them fell off the side of the slippery ice, they had snow to land on . . . but Frisk wasn’t so sure the landing wouldn’t hurt something. 

 

The incline was almost too steep, causing both children to stumble. Frisk fell flat on their face at one point, but they climbed back to their feet and half-hopped, half-ran down the rest of the slope. At the bottom they discovered nothing but a snow Papyrus and a lump of snow with “Sans” written on it in red marker. The snow Papyrus was actually rather impressive, Becca had to admit. The skeleton had even managed to make abs and biceps on it (that Papyrus didn’t even have). 

 

“There doesn’t seem to be anything down here.” She said. “Let’s go back up and . . . Frisk?” Becca paused, confused, to see Frisk building up some snow in a pile next to the Sans lump. The child appeared to be trying to make a small snow-Frisk, but the hair didn’t seem to be cooperating. Becca frowned. “Frisk,” She said patiently, “we don’t have time for this.”

 

Frisk continued to dig into the snow and add more. The snow was now starting to look like hair. They added three lines to the face for what looked like eyes and a mouth before they stood up and put their hands on their hips, proud. The body of the snow-Frisk only had two lines on the body for stripes, but the snow-Frisk actually appeared decent. They looked at Becca expectantly. She clapped for them. They motioned to the spot next to their snow-Frisk.

 

She sighed. “We don’t have time. We have to find Sandro before anything bad happens to him.”

 

Frisk seemed unconcerned as they reached for her hand. They boldly grabbed it and led her over to the correct spot. Becca felt strange at their touch. She was unsure if it was because she was unused to the touch of another human, or if she was just getting into that weird age that her mother had talked about with her when she had been younger. She suspected the former. 

 

Frisk waited for her to make something. It didn’t look like she had a choice. Reluctantly she started to build up the snow too, patting it to form a sphere for her body. Frisk joined her, adding more so that she would be taller than the snow-Frisk. She didn’t work as hard on the hair, but she did make a typical smiley face. Without her noticing, she had begun to focus hard on the task before her. The bow she took her time with perfecting was the final touch. It wasn’t the best snow-person, but it was rather cute.

 

There was a giggle, and Becca startled to realize it was Frisk. When she looked at them, they pointed at the torso of her snow-Becca. There were two lumps there, obviously hastily added on that were already starting to fall off, that represented breasts. She gasped, scandalized, as Frisk giggled a bit more. Becca caught one of the lumps and tossed it at Frisk, smacking the child in the face. Their laughter just got louder.

 

“How gross!!” Becca scolded, even as a smile threatened to break on her face. Frisk only looked her dead in the eye, snow slipping off of their face, and smirked as they made jiggling motions in front of their chest playfully. Becca grabbed more snow to throw at them, covering the child in the cold. Frisk shrieked and threw some snow back before they scrambled to their feet and ran off back towards the slope. Becca took off after them, yelling too. Frisk fell in the snow on the way up, and Becca laughed as she managed to scramble past them, making it to the top first where she crossed her arms over her chest.

 

Frisk grabbed her hands and spun them both in a circle under the falling snow before they both toppled backwards from the momentum. Becca rolled over, both children panting as they stared at the snow. They couldn’t see the tops of the caves they were in, but neither could they see where the snow was coming from. Puffs of air escaped their lips as they recovered from their play.

 

Frisk turned their head to look at Becca and saw that the girl had closed her eyes. They were glad to see her more relaxed. Frisk wasn’t so sure she had played a whole lot in the past years she had been down in the Underground. Would she have played with the other children before they had left to wherever they were now? Secretly Frisk was also happy to have a friend to play with. They didn’t have any friends. They couldn’t help but enjoy the moment they were in despite the treacherous situation of possibly being captured. This was the happiest they had been in far too long.

 

Finally Becca sat up and climbed to her feet, brushing snow off of her coat and skirt. The material looked like it was starting soak through around her bottom as well. She tugged her coat down to cover it as Frisk also got up. “We have to keep going.” The girl said, her playful mood falling away into something that was still relaxed, but serious. Frisk nodded in agreement. They would either have to solve the puzzle, or jump the gap into the treeline they could see. Frisk didn’t think they would be able to jump it, so solving it was.

 

Neither child dared to step onto the ice until they were positive of which route to go. They had seen how Becca had slid completely across the ice, so they assumed they would slide right off the end if they reached the edge of the ice plain. They needed to both hit the X that was in line with the treeline if they wanted to slide over there.

 

The children split up, careful in their movements as they slid back and forth across the ice to make sure they hit all of the Xs and turned them into Os. At one point Frisk nearly slid over the edge, but Becca had managed to grab their hand and yank them onto tractioned ground with her. The puzzle turned out to be easier than expected with two people, so they progressed forward towards the treeline, sliding and wobbling as they tried to maintain their balance while moving. They didn’t hit tractioned ground for the treeline, though, and instead slid right past the trees until they were in the next section. Becca stumbled and nearly fell at the sudden stop, but Frisk toppled for the third time into the snow. They weren’t sure they were having fun with that anymore.

 

Becca gave a small snort, though, as Frisk stood up. At the younger child’s confused look she said, “You have a snow pile in your hair.”

 

Frisk couldn’t help their own small smile as they pointed to Becca’s own head. Somehow she had a snowdog on her head. She didn’t get to see the creative little sculpture, though, as she brushed her hair off as well as Frisk’s. Frisk blinked, a little startled at her friendly touch, but didn’t fight against it. 

 

The new place they were in had multiple snow poffs. And another path that led downhill. The kids dithered, considering whether to keep heading towards town or to explore more. The snow was starting to clear up again, and with it brought more sights to behold. Becca touched Frisk’s arm, her face brightening at the sight before them. There was a town with smoke billowing from it. It appeared to be just over the bridge that wasn’t too far away.

 

“We’re almost there!” Becca sighed happily. “I can almost feel the heat and my face again.” Frisk nodded eagerly in agreement. “Let’s keep going forward.” She told them. “We can go back to that path later maybe. I just want to be warm.” At this point Frisk could do nothing but agree. They were cold, tired, and starting to get very hungry. What time even was it? It was impossible to tell in the Underground.

 

The strange snow poffs were scattered around the clearing that had nothing else in it but a small doghouse. Frisk gladly ran over to it as Becca examined some of the snow poffs curiously. What a cute doghouse! It was about up to Frisk’s shoulders. They wouldn’t be able to fit in it, but there was a doggy bed and a couple toys there. 

 

“I found some gold.” Becca informed them as she rejoined Frisk. She was pocketing the gold. “It was in one of the snow poffs. Maybe there’s more?” 

 

Neither of them had the chance to look, though, as fast footsteps approached. Both of the children turned to see a flash of blue headed right towards them followed by the loud clanking of metal. Frisk’s mouth fell open at the sight of a little white dog in huge metal armor charging after Sandro as the boy ran towards them.

 

“ _ ¡¡ _ _ CORRAN!!  _ _ ¡¡ _ _ ES GREATER DOG!!  _ _ ¡¡ _ _ Y QUIERE  _ MIMOS _!! _ “ He shouted, waving his hand at them to run. 

 

“What are you saying?!” Becca cried, even as she and Frisk turned to run as well. Neither wanted to be in the way of the charging hulk of a dog.

 

“ _ ¡¡ _ _ ÁNDALE ÁNDALE!!”  _ Sandro screamed instead, grabbing their hands and dragging them after him. Both children stumbled, but righted themselves as they tried to escape the dog. But there was nowhere for them to go. The dog, despite its size, was swift and in need of affection, and before the children knew it they were being tackled to the ground, their Souls suddenly erupting from them as a battle commenced. 

 

Greater Dog yipped excitedly, his tail wagging, as he climbed back to his feet and prepared for battle. For whatever reason, the spear the dog held, as well as various parts of his armor, also had faces on them. 

 

Sandro groaned, already on his feet. He threw his head back dramatically, hands coming to his face as he bemoaned his fate. “Greater Dog, no!” He scolded the pup. “I told you that I did not want to play!”

 

Greater Dog whined a little, appearing slightly disheartened by the scolding, before he crept closer. Sandro could tell the dog just wanted affection, but Sandro also didn’t want to do it. He liked dogs well enough, but Greater Dog was very insistent on the amount of love and affection he wanted. 

 

“What do we do?” Becca asked, alarmed at the overly-affectionate dog. Greater Dog was still inching closer. It was Frisk’s turn.

 

Frisk appeared to already be on it though. As Sandro watched, the other boy motioned the dog closer and began to vigorously pet the pooch. Greater Dog collapsed into Frisk’s lap as he pet the puppy. This went on for so long that Greater Dog fell asleep in Frisk’s lap.

 

“Oh.” Becca said.

 

“You did it, Frisk!” Sandro praised in a quiet voice so as to not wake Greater Dog. 

 

“But wait, why are our Souls still-” Becca didn’t get to finish as suddenly Greater Dog popped up, full of energy. He was so excited that he swung at them with his spear. Frisk and Sandro yelped and didn’t manage to avoid a full hit as they were thrown backwards. The light blue magic flashed across Greater Dog’s spear, so Becca held still in time to avoid damage.

 

Sandro grumbled something angrily in Spanish as he climbed back to his feet. He exclaimed in horror at the sight of the front of his coat ripped open, some of the stuffing falling out. “Greater Dog!!” He shouted, stomping his foot roughly and shaking his fist. “You ripped my coat!! Munny is going to be mad at me now!!”

 

Greater Dog seemed unrepentant as he dropped to all fours and patted the ground excitedly. Frisk gave a sorrowful glance at their damaged coat as well, wincing at the blood that was starting to stain the white fleece inside. They didn’t understand how Sandro could take a hit like that and be fine. They could see the blood on his shirt too. They had some of the candy left from the other puzzle, but that was it.

 

“Frisk, give me your stick!” Becca hissed at them, motioning for the stick. Greater Dog rolled in the snow, twitching with barely-contained ecstasy as Becca procured the stick from Frisk and then threw it. The entire ground shook a bit as the dog took off after it. The four of them played fetch with the dog for a while until he was tired out. He made one more swing at the children, but this time all three managed to dodge any damage. Greater Dog returned to Sandro for more affection. 

 

“Ugggggh!” The boy complained, but finally plopped down on the ground to cuddle with the dog and pet him. Greater Dog laid his full weight on Sandro, so the boy couldn’t move very well. Frisk and Becca decided to use their turns to also pet the puppy. Soon enough the dog’s pet capacity was full, and Greater Dog flopped over with his legs hanging in the air, contented.

 

Greater Dog sat up and stood back to his full height as the children’s Souls were released. Surprisingly, a small white dog emerged from the armor, hopping down to lick all of the children in thanks. Sandro made a disgusted face, clearly still upset about the matter, before Greater Dog jumped back into his armor head-first, and marched back over the bridge and towards Snowdin. 

 

Sandro wiped at his slobbered-on face and grumbled, flicking his hands to remove saliva from them. Frisk rubbed at their wound and ate one of their pieces of monster candy. Monster candy didn’t seem to heal all wounds completely, but it did make them stop bleeding at least. It was better than nothing. Frisk didn’t have to worry about bleeding out.

 

“Sandro, how did you escape?” Becca asked, turning back to the boy. Frisk blinked. Oh right; hadn’t he been captured by Papyrus? “Did Papyrus try to take you to the capital?”

 

“What? Pssssh! No!” Sandro laughed, waving his hand at the very thought. “Papyrus captures me all of the time!  _ Es mi amigo. _ ”

 

“But how did you escape?” Becca repeated, stressing the escape part.

 

Sandro shrugged. “Papyrus always makes the bars too big. I just walked through them and ran over here from his shed.”

 

Frisk and Becca shared a look, recalling the “blockade” on the bridge where they had met Sans. Frisk smiled and Becca rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you were right.” She told them, shaking her head.

 

“We’re glad you’re alright.” Frisk told Sandro quietly. Sandro grinned and slapped a hand on Frisk’s shoulder, jolting the child.

 

“Of course! But you must be very cold. Snowdin is right over there! And Munny will probably have food ready for us!” Sandro pointed, already hurrying his way across the snow. Becca and Frisk didn’t hesitate to run after him, no matter how tired they were. The finish line was finally in sight, after all! They only had to cross the bridge!

 

Sandro led the way, holding onto the ropes that were there for safety, as the three began to cross. Becca held her head high, determined not to look down while Frisk chose to hang onto the back of her coat. Only Sandro seemed completely at ease, bravely crossing the small bridge (although, it was really steady for a bridge, Becca thought. It felt more like they were walking across rock).

 

“Look! Isn’t it a beautiful sight?” Sandro asked, pausing briefly to point into the distance. There was an entire forest beneath them and as far as they could see. A few cottages dappled the landscape, their windows warm with light and fire. There was even a large lake down there. They were so high up, the trees looked practically like toys. Becca had to bite back a whimper, her eyes clenching shut briefly as she recalled the terror of first falling into the Underground.

 

“Keep going!” She barked, fear sharpening her command. Sandro shot her a dirty look, annoyed, but continued on anyway. Becca felt a little bad at that. However they didn’t get very far before Sandro suddenly stopped again. Becca saw why as on the other side of the bridge stood Papyrus and Sans. She could feel Frisk tugging on her coat wanting to know why they stopped, but Papyrus was already calling to them.

 

“HUMANS! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS . . . SANDRO!!” Papyrus suddenly cut off, shocked to see the boy. “THERE YOU ARE!! PLEASE ASK NEXT TIME BEFORE YOU ESCAPE!! I WAS WORRIED SICK WHEN YOU DISAPPEARED!!”

 

“ _ Lo siento, mi amigo. _ ” Sandro apologized, only sounding a little bit apologetic.

 

“i told’ja he was fine.” Sans said.

 

“ANYWAY, HUMANS, THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE!” Papyrus threw his arms out. “BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF THE DEADLY TERROR!” Sans pressed a button on the remote in his hands, and suddenly weapons descended from above. All three children blanched with terror at the sight of spears, cannons, flames, a swinging spiked ball, and a dog. “WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!!”

 

Becca and Frisk huddled close together, staring at everything with dread. They were all trapped. How were they supposed to dodge any of this when they were on a bridge? They would die a horrible death at this rate. Only Sandro held himself straight, recovering from his initial horror. 

 

“You would not dare to use it!!” Sandro yelled, puffing himself up to stand as tall as he could. Becca considered possible ways out, and wondered if the boy could use his power here to save them. She didn’t know if he could. This was worse than anything they had encountered before.

 

“CANNONS WILL FIRE!” Papyrus denied. “SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!! ”

 

“Do not do this!” Sandro called, suddenly looking worried. Frisk admired his ability to stand there when they felt like they would collapse. They didn’t even think they could make a run for the other side. Even if they somehow dodged all of the attacks, the bridge would collapse under the onslaught. 

 

“ARE YOU READY!?” Papyrus asked, heedless of the boy’s pleas, “BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!” 

 

The children tensed, waiting for the attacks to begin . . . but nothing happened. There was a tense silence in which they could do nothing but stare at Papyrus, waiting for him to kill them and seal their fate, but the skeleton didn’t move.

 

Finally Papyrus turned around so his back was towards them. Sans turned to his brother. “well?” He questioned, “what’s the holdup?” Becca thought he sounded way too amused for the horrible scenario they were in.

 

“HOLDUP!?” Papyrus asked, offended. His voice seemed a bit higher pitched. “WHAT HOLDUP!? I . . . I’M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!” He whipped around holding out the remote to activate the device as he prepared to destroy them all. The three children tensed again, waiting for their fate to befall them, but again nothing happened. Frisk eyed the flamethrower uneasily. They could feel the heat from where they were at.

 

Sans’s grin only widened. One would think that it was just a silly game with the way he teased, “that, uh, doesn’t look very activated.”

 

“Shut up shut up shut up!” Becca hissed under her breath at the shorter skeleton.

 

“WELL!!!” Papyrus complained, “THIS CHALLENGE!!! IT SEEMS . . . MAYBE . . . TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMANS WITH.”

 

“You got that right.” Sandro said loudly. “Far too easy! No challenge at all!”

 

“Shut up!” Becca hissed, punching him in the back some. 

 

“The Great Papyrus would never use a trap like this!” Sandro continued nonetheless. “The Great Papyrus wouldn’t get the fame he deserves if he captured us humans in this stupid trap!”

 

“YEAH . . . YEAH!!! WE CAN’T USE THIS ONE!!” Papyrus agreed. “I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!!! MY PUZZLES ARE VERY FAIR! AND MY TRAPS ARE EXPERTLY COOKED! BUT THIS METHOD IS TOO DIRECT! NO CLASS AT ALL! AWAY IT GOES!” He commanded. Sans pressed the button again, and the machine ascended again. Frisk breathed out a shaky sigh of relief, unknowingly matching Papyrus’s own sigh.

 

Sandro was grinning brightly at his friend. “I knew you would not use it!” He cheered.

 

Papyrus whipped back around. “WHAT ARE YOU SMILING ABOUT!? THIS WAS ANOTHER DECISIVE VICTORY FOR PAPYRUS!!” He laughed in impressive staccato before ending on a confused note. He didn’t seem to understand how it was a victory for him anymore than the children did. He turned and headed quickly back towards Snowdin. The children eagerly crossed the bridge.

 

“You!” Becca suddenly turned on Sans, who was still standing there. “You . . . you bonehead!!” She yelled.

 

“can’t deny that.” Sans agreed, grinning. 

 

“I thought you were supposed to be helping us?!” She demanded.

 

“i am.”

 

“By helping Papyrus try to  _ capture _ us?” 

 

“yeah. hey, listen.” He interrupted the girl before she could get more upset. “i don’t know what my brother’s going to do now. if i were you kids, i would make sure i understand blue attacks.”

 

“We do.” Becca sighed, apparently deciding she would get nowhere becoming angry at Sans. 

 

“They are very tricky!” Sandro agreed. 

 

“good. well, see ya then.” The children turned to head into town, but he stopped them. “oh, by the way. the guest room is open to anyone who wants to stay there.”

 

“Really?” Becca asked, already thinking of a warm blanket by the fire.

 

“Ugh! No!” Sandro said, huffing. “I just left there! It was full of dog food!”

 

Sans chuckled at that. “yeah, pap doesn’t know what humans like apparently.”

 

“Wait, you were in the guest room? I thought you were in the shed?” Becca asked incredulously.

 

“They are the same place.” Sandro explained blandly.

 

“No way, then!” She agreed, glaring at Sans. “Let’s go!” She grabbed Frisk’s sleeve and gave them a sharp tug. Frisk waved to Sans as the three children entered the town. They were finally in Snowdin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Spanish Translation_  
>  ¡¡CORRAN!! ¡¡ES GREATER DOG!! ¡¡Y QUIERE MIMOS!! - RUN!! IT'S GREATER DOG!! AND HE WANTS _CUDDLES_!!!
> 
> Finally they reach Snowdin.


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The children finally get a break for a while before they have to go back into the fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just full of fluff and kids being kids and some awkward talks.  
> And yes, I have taken some liberty with the Underground.

Becca looked at the cheerful sign lit up with blinking lights that greeted people who were entering Snowdin Town as Sandro led the way into the town. It was the busiest place Becca had seen since the Ruins, but everyone here seemed much younger than the monsters she was used to seeing. There were children monsters and many rabbit monsters loitering around the snowy town. She supposed that was why the jackets had rabbit fur? But wait, wouldn’t that mean that they were wearing the fur of-

 

Frisk marveled at the quaint little town. It was so friendly! The sight of it filled Frisk with determination to keep going, and they created another Save as they stood in front of a large wooden building. Sandro didn’t hesitate to burst through the door with the large sign alerting Becca to the fact that it was an inn. There appeared to be a store connected to it as well.

 

“Munny!!” They heard Sandro call even as the door swung shut behind him. “I am back!!”

 

Frisk moved to follow him in, but Becca caught their shoulder. She seemed strangely a little perturbed. “Frisk . . . do you think we’re wearing . . . rabbit fur?” She asked, her voice odd.

 

Frisk tilted their head, confused as to why she would ask, before they noticed some of the rabbit monsters around and understood. They gazed at the fur that lined their jacket before meeting Becca’s gaze. They shrugged.

 

“Okay.” She nodded, settled now, and entered the hotel as well. Frisk contemplatively stroked the fur of their coat before following her inside. Instantly a blast of heat wrapped around the both of them. The inside of the hotel was a warm golden brown color that invited everyone indoors. There wasn’t much to decorate the main entrance, but not much decoration was needed for such a quaint town. The atmosphere of the building lent enough appeal to the building. There was a large painting hanging on the back wall that looked to be a city over the hills. Frisk thought it was vaguely familiar. There was also a single long desk that Sandro was leaning on, talking with another rabbit monster and what appeared to be her young child bunny. This must be “Munny” that Sandro kept mentioning.

 

“I understand you like to play at all hours of the day, but it is well past dinner time!” Munny was scolding Sandro. “The mountains are dangerous, and Papyrus had already stopped in here once to say he had found and then lost you. What was I to think?” She demanded.

 

Sandro looked thoroughly scolded, shoulders hunched. “ _ Lo siento,  _ Munny.” He murmured again and again. “I did not know how late it had become.”

 

Munny sighed, her anger beginning to leave her as her child clung to the end of her dress. “If you would stop breaking your watches . . .” She said, and then noticed Becca and Frisk standing there. “Oh, hello. Welcome to the Snowed Inn. Would you like some rooms?”

 

“Ah . . .” Becca hesitated, unsure of how to reply, when Sandro burst back into the conversation,

 

“No, Munny! These are my friends! Can they stay the night with us?” He asked.

 

“I don’t exactly have room for them, though.” Munny murmured, glancing worriedly at Becca and Frisk. “You already share a room with Bunair.” She stroked the fur of her child’s head in thought. “I don’t have sleeping bags.”

 

“We can just stay in one of the hotel rooms!” Sandro suggested. “We can share a bed!” Becca made a small face from the corner of Frisk’s eye, but she didn’t protest. 

 

“If we have one open.” Munny protested, hands on her hips. She gave Sandro a stern look, and then paused as she noticed his jacket. “Sandro! Did you destroy  _ another _ jacket? You know Sis will be mad!”

 

“I can’t help it!” Sandro whined. “Greater Dog attacked us!” He motioned to the other humans as well. Munny’s eyes widened a bit more to see the damage on Frisk as well. Her face darkened a bit.

 

“I’m going to have stern words with the guards around here! There’s playing, and then there’s assault!” Her voice softened as she moved out from behind the counter and kneeled down to motion to Frisk. “Come here, child. Let me take a look.”

 

Frisk walked over to her and allowed the mother rabbit to unzip their coat and push it aside to examine Frisk’s wound. Bunair continued to cling to her, watching Frisk curiously, before the small rabbit ran and hopped over to Sandro and onto his back, tucking their face down so only their eyes peeked out over his shoulder. Sandro didn’t seem to mind the sudden weight one bit.

 

“I can’t believe how rough that dog is becoming!” Munny muttered in outrage. She gently touched Frisk’s face, startling the human. At the sight of Frisk’s small flinch, she pulled her hand back to give Frisk some space. “Have you eaten at all? Your wound is barely healed.”

 

Frisk shook their head. “Actually . . .” Becca spoke up for the first time since they had entered. She unzipped her jacket as the heat of the room began to become a bit too suffocating. “We haven’t eaten in . . . a long time.” She seemed hesitant to admit it. There was a reserved quality to her that Frisk didn’t really understand.

 

“Do we have any dinner left, Munny?” Sandro asked, joining them. He shifted Bunair on his back as he waddled playfully over. 

 

“Well, yes there’s plenty. After all, I have to feed the hotel.” Munny stood and straightened the skirt of her dress. “I suppose I have no choice but to let you two stay, huh? Oh, but wait, what about your parents? Do they know where you are?” Becca visibly closed off, so Frisk and Sandro nodded quickly to cover for her. Her anger about her mother earlier still clung to the edges of all of their minds. 

 

“They came to visit me, but then it got really late. We already called their parents to say they were staying with me!” He lied through his teeth. Frisk had to admire his ability to make up a story like that on the spot. They had always been such a bad liar. 

 

“I wish you would tell me before you just assume people can stay over.” Munny grumped a little as she walked over to the staircase in the room and started up it. Sandro automatically went after her, and so Frisk and Becca followed him.

 

“It’s okay because we live in a hotel.” Sandro responded carelessly. The upstairs had a hallway that had multiple rooms off of either side, each labelled with a number. There were only about two rooms on each side. At the end of the hallway was a living area with couches, a warm fire, and a kitchen that appeared to be shared by all of the occupants. There was another set of stairs leading down somewhere that the children couldn’t see. The fresh smell of a cooked meal floated through the room, and Frisk’s stomach growled loud enough for everyone to hear. They ducked their head as Sandro grinned and Bunair giggled.

 

“Dinner is on the stove. It should still be warm, but you know how to heat it up if it’s not. After you eat, the three of you should bathe and then head to bed. Grab room 4’s key.” Munny informed them. “I’ll be in to check on you when we close up for the night.” She paused, looking Frisk and Becca up and down. She noted the rips on Becca’s raggedy clothing and the slash through Frisk’s sweater as well as the shorts. “I’ll leave some clothes in the room.”

 

“Thanks Munny!” Sandro handed her Bunair, who she hefted onto her hip easily. Bunair hid their face into her shoulder, but continued to peek at Becca and Frisk curiously. Frisk waved as Munny headed back down the hallway and Bunair waved back. Frisk felt significantly more cheerful.

 

“She’s your temporary mom then?” Becca asked as she approached the stove and took the lid off of the pot sitting there. It appeared to be a stew. Becca’s stomach now growled, but she only stared in confusion at the stove. She had no idea how to work it. Sandro saved her the effort by standing on his toes and turning a knob. Immediately the stove crackled and a fire came to life under the pot. Both children stood clear while it heated up more so it would be nice and hot. 

 

“She took me in, yes!” Sandro agreed, already going to grab the bowls. Frisk hunted for some silverware. “When I came to Snowdin, I stayed the night here and told her about how I was lost and trying to get home. But, well,” he pulled out the bowls and brought them next to the stove, “you told me that we cannot. So I told her I could not. And eventually I just ended up living here.”

 

“That’s awfully nice of her.” Becca murmured, confused as she crossed her arms. She was the tallest, so she stirred the stew herself. She made sure to roll up her sleeves as well. 

 

“Munny is nice and also strict!” Sandro agreed. Frisk found the silverware and brought them over. “I am glad she lets me stay here.”

 

Becca didn’t respond for a long moment as she contemplatively stirred the stew. All of the children were rather tired, so they allowed themselves to relax in the heat of the house. Frisk was feeling a little drowsy. They were happy to feel their legs again. Sandro hummed to himself as he walked around and set the table. It was a habit that Frisk wasn’t used to, so they stuck next to Becca. She had a frown on her face. They tapped her arm to catch her attention and then tilted their head in confusion, worried. Becca glanced at them and then away before she spoke up.

 

“Sandro, you know that we can’t stay here forever, right?”

 

“What do you mean?” Sandro asked, cutting into the humming of a tune Frisk thought they heard playing outside in the town. Strangely the Underground seemed to hum an undertone of music wherever they were. Frisk liked the music of Snowdin, they decided. They didn’t bring up if the other children heard it, though.

 

“We have to leave Snowdin.” Her tone was unreadable. Sandro seemed unconcerned as he plopped himself down in one of the chairs at the table. Becca watched the food to make sure it wasn’t bubbling. Sandro leaned his face onto his hand as Frisk held out a bowl for Becca to take. It looked like the food was almost warm enough. Monster stoves worked quickly!

 

“We cannot leave until we beat Papyrus.” Sandro responded. 

 

Becca looked a tiny bit annoyed at that. “We don’t have time for your little competition with Papyrus.”

 

Sandro rolled his eyes, throwing his hand up some. “It is not a little competition! And I meant that  _ we _ need to fight Papyrus. He is trying to capture us. He will not let us leave town even if I was  _ not _ in competition with him.”

 

That gave Becca pause. Frisk gently took the ladle from her hand to pour the three of them servings of the stew. They couldn’t wait to eat. Becca, in response, instead went to find some cups so they could have some drinks with the meal. 

 

“Right.” She finally murmured, mostly to herself. They would not be allowed to leave with Papyrus on the hunt for them. He had been trying to trap them, but if they were in town he wouldn’t be able to. No doubt he would confront them directly. They had already fought the rest of the guard around Snowdin, so all that was left was to fight Papyrus. Becca didn’t really want to hurt the skeleton, though. Sans had brought up his brother to her multiple times over the past four years and it was obvious he adored the skeleton. Becca couldn’t risk upsetting Sans. Besides, Papyrus was fairly harmless.

 

“What does he fight like?” She asked, filling the cups she found with water from the tap and joining Frisk and Sandro at the table. The children were already happily digging in, bright smiles on both of their faces. Becca ate slower, but savored the home-cooked meal. She hadn’t had one in a very long time. 

 

Sandro pointed his fork at her. “He uses blue magic a lot! It is very annoying!” He popped a large piece of carrot into his mouth and spoke while chewing, “Although it is fun not in battle. He uses bones to attack.”

 

“That doesn’t sound too hard.” Becca said, relieved.

 

“He is a tough person to beat!” Sandro denied. “Do not, uh . . .” He searched for the word and came up short. “Do not think he is weak!”

 

“We’ll do it tomorrow, then.” Becca decided. “After we rest up.”

 

Sandro nodded. “Right! We will fight him, and then we will finally beat Papyrus! And he will not hunt us anymore!”

 

Becca wasn’t so sure how true that was. Just because they defeat Papyrus doesn’t mean he wouldn’t still come after them.

 

“So what about after?” Sandro continued. Becca paused with her spoon partway to her mouth. Frisk also stopped, blinking in surprise. The children looked at each other and realized they didn’t have any sort of plan. They had just decided to move forward into the Underground and not get caught. Sandro looked back and forth between them before he barked a laugh. “You do not know?!”

 

“I guess we’re just . . . looking for the other kids.” Becca confessed, sounding a lot less confident than she should feel. 

 

“Cool.” Sandro seemed completely at ease for one who had just revealed the biggest hole in the tiniest plan that they had. “Where are they?”

 

“I don’t know.” She admitted. “It’s possible that they’re dead.”

 

Sandro froze, staring at her with his mouth open. “Dead? Like . . . captured?”

 

“I don’t know.” She repeated, her voice softer. “If we can’t find them . . . they may have been captured. And if they were captured . . .” She didn’t finish her statement. She didn’t have to. 

 

The silence between them was heavy, none of the children touching their food. Somewhere in the hotel voices could be heard as the guests settled in for the night. Frisk’s food felt thick in their stomach. They took a sip of their water. 

 

“I’m sure . . .” They murmured quietly, “that we’ll find them. We just have to look.”

 

“. . . Yeah.” Becca agreed.

 

“Yeah, he’s right! We just need to find them! First we beat Papyrus, and then we find the other kids!” Sandro hit the table in defiance, already hyped up. 

 

“Right! Wait.” Becca frowned. “What did you call Frisk? ‘He’?” 

 

Sandro shot her a baffled look as Frisk winced. They didn’t realize they would have to have this conversation. They had forgotten what it was like to interact with others. “Yeah? Because Frisk is a boy?”

 

“Actually, they prefer to be called ‘they’.” Becca corrected. She looked at Frisk. “Right?” She asked for confirmation. Frisk gave her a confused look. How did she know that? Was it automatic for her? “My power told me.” She explained. “I’m right, right?” Frisk nodded.

 

Sandro made a face. “You do not want to be called a boy? Are you actually a girl then?” He asked.

 

Frisk made a tiny face, discomfort obvious. They didn’t know how to explain how they were just uncomfortable with being referred to as one or the other. They didn’t really mind if they were thought of as a boy or a girl, but they preferred to not to be called either. Neither felt really right for them. 

 

“Well?” Sandro pressured, not unkindly but certainly a little impatiently. Becca looked about ready to scold him as well. 

 

Frisk pushed their vegetables around in their bowl with their fork, not looking at Sandro as they said quietly, “I . . . prefer ‘they’.” 

 

“Okay.” Sandro said. Both Becca and Frisk looked at him in surprise.

 

“You’re just . . . fine with that? It’s not weird?” Becca asked.

 

“Of course it’s weird! I do not get it at all!” Sandro complained. “But there are monsters like that in Snowdin too. And Munny said that even if I do not understand, it is still nicer to call people what they wish to be called. Otherwise I could be hurting their feelings without meaning to.” Sandro smiled at Frisk. “Sorry if I hurt you, Frisk.”

 

Frisk gave him a relieved smile, glad of his understanding. It was the least they could ask for.

 

“Yeah, I don’t really get it either.” Becca agreed. “But I guess it’s not that uncommon. There were plenty of monsters in the Ruins like that too.”

 

“But do you have a thing down there?” Sandro blurted out to Frisk, pointing at their lap.

 

“Sandro!” Becca cried, scandalized.

 

“What?” Sandro asked, holding his hands up. “I can only call them one or the other in Spanish! I just want to know!”

 

“It doesn’t matter.” Frisk responded, a little flustered and still clearly not super comfortable despite being slightly amused. They could tell that Sandro wasn’t trying to be rude about his questioning. “I’m a . . . kid.”

 

Sandro laughed. “You are right! You can tell because you are wearing stripes!”

 

“What does that have to do with anything?” Becca asked. Frisk hopped out of their seat to go get a second bowl. And to turn off the stove because they had all forgotten to do so.

 

“You do not know?” Sandro asked, surprised. “In the Underground, children wear striped shirts!”

 

Becca looked down at her own striped undershirt. “Wait, really? I didn’t know.”

 

Sandro shrugged. “I do not really get it, but it is true. It is some weird monster thing, I guess.” Frisk rejoined them and began to finish off their second helping with gusto. “When we are done, we can go down to the hot springs and bathe!”

 

“What are hot springs?” Becca asked warily. “Why not just use the bathtubs?”

 

“There are not any in the hotel.” Sandro explained simply, going over to the sink to rinse and clean his bowl. “The baths are the hot springs. They are big natural pools of water that are really hot and are outside! It is cool to see the snow and be in a warm spring!”

 

“Outside?” Becca and Frisk shared a look. “How many are there?”

 

“There is one for the boys, one for the girls, and one that is shared. They are apparently small, according to Munny, but that is okay. I like them a lot!” He turned to Frisk. “I will go into the shared one with you, Frisk! That way you do not have to feel like you have to choose one or the other!”

 

Becca and Frisk stared at him with wide eyes. “S-Share?” Becca asked. They both tried to picture it. 

 

Sandro laughed. “No need to be shy!” He called, already heading down the set of stairs that the children had yet to explore. “Finish and wash your bowls! I will wait down here!”

 

“Oh my god.” Becca hissed as she and Frisk finished their food and went to wash their bowls. “Shared baths?  _ Outside _ ?”

 

“Like in anime.” Frisk marveled a little. The hot springs in anime had always looked really cool, but they didn’t think they would ever get to visit them.

 

“What’s anime?” Becca sounded even more confused. Frisk decided it was easier not to explain right now. They were eager but a little nervous to go to the hot springs. They had never bathed with anyone else before.

 

“Shared bath?” They asked Becca as the two hesitantly descended the stairs.

 

“Uh, I think I’ll go onto the girl's side.” Becca denied, face scrunching at the thought of going into the same bath as Sandro and Frisk.

 

“Why?” Sandro asked as they joined him. He was already stripped down to his underwear. Becca quickly looked away as Frisk squeaked a bit. Sandro unashamedly stripped of his underwear and threw them into the cubby where his clothes were, grabbing one of the fresh towels nearby. Luckily for the sake of his friends he tied the towel around his waist. “I am very used to naked people.”

 

“You would have to be if you all have to share a bath!” Becca complained. “And I can’t just . . . share a bath with a boy!”

 

“Why? Oh! Is it because you have boobies?” He asked.

 

“Sandro!!” Becca covered her chest, her cheeks darkening even more. Frisk bit their lip to stop their laughter. Becca shot a glare at them, letting the child know she hadn’t missed their amusement.

 

Sandro laughed out loud, not bothering to hide it. “I get it! Some women are like that.” He told Frisk. “The girl’s side is back through the door and to the left. It is the room next door.”

 

“ _ Thank _ you.” Becca sighed, already turning away. “I’m not a kid like you two are.” She muttered under her breath as she left. Still Frisk and Sandro heard her.

 

“It is definitely because of the boobs.” Sandro murmured to Frisk. Frisk grinned and nodded. Becca couldn’t be much older than the two of them, but Frisk understood that she wouldn’t want to bathe with them. Hesitantly Frisk stripped as well and placed their items in a separate cubby hole and grabbed a towel to wrap around themselves. “Oh okay, so that’s what you have.” Sandro commented idly.

 

Frisk flushed. “Sandro, please . . .” They protested.

 

Sandro held his hands up. “Sorry, sorry! I will not bring it up again. It does not matter anyway.” Frisk ducked their head, still feeling embarrassed. Sandro gently pushed them towards the door with a cloth that covered the entrance. “The spring is through here! Come, come, come!” 

 

The hot spring was definitely small like Sandro had said, surrounded on all sides by wooden fences that separated the hot springs from each other. They were able to see the top of the Underground, but nobody would be able to look into the springs. Frisk stared at the naturally heated pool of water and the smooth rocks. The water was white as some of the snow that surrounded the pool that hadn’t melted from the heat. Frisk kept getting hit with bursts of cold and hot air.

 

“We have to actually bathe first!” Sandro pushed Frisk away from the pool and towards some shower heads. “The springs are for relaxing.” 

 

“Why?” Frisk asked as Sandro already got the showerheads going and pulled over the shampoos and body washes. 

 

“Dunno. They do not want the springs to be dirty, so we have to wash ourselves first.” He pointed at Frisk’s stomach as he dropped his towel to step under the warm spray of the showerhead. “Does that still hurt?”

 

Sandro hadn’t been injured like Frisk had. Their wound ached some and was tender at the touch, but there wasn’t much they could do. Monster food hadn’t healed them. They would just need to put up with it. They nodded to Sandro, also stepping under a different showerhead to begin washing themselves.

 

“We will try to bandage it later.” Sandro decided, scrubbing at his body with the soap. “Munny and the other monsters do not want any gross stuff in the water.” 

 

It was still a bit awkward for Frisk to bathe with another human being, but they adjusted to it quickly enough. Sandro made conversation that didn’t allow time for Frisk’s shyness to come back into their mind. He was comfortable to be around. Frisk couldn’t help smiling to themselves. So this was what friends were like to have!

 

When the two were clean, they inched their way into the hot water of the spring, hissing a bit at the temperature difference from the cooler air, but adjusting soon enough. Sandro sighed and splashed his way into deeper parts, allowing himself to float. Frisk stayed near the edges, taking in the floral scent of the water. The whiteness must be because of soap, they thought. 

 

“Becca!” Sandro called, his voice loud but not too loud. He must have remembered that it was considered late in the Underground (although Frisk wasn’t sure how they could tell).

 

“I’m here!” Becca’s voice was even softer, but clear from the other side of the wooden fence. Frisk and Sandro swam over to the edge so that they were closer. “These springs are . . . really nice.” She admitted to them. She must have moved closer too.

 

“ _ Sale _ .” Sandro agreed, humming contentedly. “ _ Mi familia  _ would love it.”

 

Frisk and Becca didn’t speak for a moment. But then Frisk asked hesitantly, “Do you . . . miss them?”

 

“Ah,  _ sí, _ I do.” His eyes were only a tiny bit wistful as he said, “But I cannot go home. So I do not think about them.”

 

“We’ll get you home, Sandro.” Becca called from the other side. “We’re all gonna go home.”

 

“That sounds nice!” Sandro smiled, fully believing her. Frisk didn’t respond. Sandro opened his mouth, looking ready to ask Becca a follow-up question, but then decided against it with a wince. Perhaps it was better if he didn’t bring up Becca’s family. Instead he turned to Frisk. “What about you?”

 

Frisk’s fingers ran silently over the rock the leaned on. Their expression was unreadable to Sandro’s eyes. They didn’t look like they wanted to respond, though.

 

Sandro decided to change his question. “How did you fall, anyway?” He gave a small laugh. “I fell by accident. I was with my sisters and their friends and we were playing on the mountain. So many kids had disappeared that they closed it off, so my sisters said it was haunted.” He rolled onto his back in the water, kicking his feet a bit. “My sister’s friends drove us out to the mountain. We climbed it to see if it was haunted and we found a  _ really _ big hole with vines everywhere in a cave. It was very cool.”

 

Frisk was watching him. Sandro splashed a bit of water onto his face and shook to get the droplets off. “One of my sisters dared me to get close to the hole and see how deep it was. They were too scared. I did, but the rock broke beneath me. And managed to grab a vine but.” He stopped and shrugged. “I fell.”

 

“So you fell because you were too stupid not to get near the hole?” Becca asked, but she sounded like she was mostly joking to try to lighten the mood.

 

Sandro played along as he became a bit offended. “It was because I was too brave!” He countered. “How did  _ you _ fall, hmm?”

 

Becca sighed. Frisk waited for her to become upset again, but instead her voice developed into something blank. “My mama and I were just hiking when we fell into the mountain through one of the gorges. We ended up in the Ruins. We would have died on impact, but we were saved by an underwater lake and some monsters who had healed us.” It sounded like a story she had told many times before. Her voice developed a bit more life as she asked, “Wait, the mountain is considered haunted?”

 

“You did not know?” Sandro was surprised. It had become such a strong rumor when he had been on the surface. “It was said that anybody who climbs the mountain would disappear because of the spirits of the missing people. Right, Frisk?”

 

Frisk didn’t respond for a moment, and then said, “They just say . . . that people who climb the mountain . . . disappear. I didn’t hear about . . . spirits.”

 

“I guess the rumor changed then.” Sandro admitted. “So why were you on the mountain, Frisk?”

 

Frisk visibly retreated from the conversation, closing themselves off. Their face blanked out of all expression. Sandro stared at them, shocked by the sudden change. When the silence extended for too long, Becca spoke up,

 

“They don’t have to tell us if they don’t want to.” Her voice was gentle. “Some of the kids who I met . . . don’t have happy stories. So if they don’t want to talk about it, we shouldn’t push them.”

 

“Not happy stories?” Sandro asked, confused. “We all fell down into a world full of monsters leaving behind our families. I am sure there is nothing sadder than that.”

 

“You would be surprised.” Becca’s voice was almost too soft to hear. “You are so na ï ve, Sandro.”

 

“What does that even mean?” He asked, offended.

 

“Cold.” Frisk interrupted, cutting off the argument before it could grow. They were thankful for Becca’s understanding. They didn’t really want to talk about it. They trusted Sandro and Becca, but the wound was still too fresh. Still they couldn’t help but wonder if Becca’s power had told her their story.

 

Frisk moved to the edge of the spring and climbed out, ready to go to bed. After everything that had happened, exhaustion was starting to creep up on them. Sandro followed suit giving a call to Becca that they were getting out and to meet them in the hallway connecting the different changing rooms. The three of them dried off to the best of their abilities and scurried inside into the warmth of the house with their towels wrapped around them.

 

The key to room 4 was hanging on the handle of the room, so Sandro unlocked it and pushed open the door. There was only a single large bed inside as well as a door leading to a small bathroom. There was a single dresser with three sets of clothes piled on top of it. Sandro rushed over immediately, dropping his bundle of worn clothing in the corner before dropping his towel. Becca’s eyes squeezed shut as she made a noise of protest, but Sandro ignored her. 

 

Frisk, having grown used to being naked as well, also dropped their towel to start dressing in the long clothes that Munny had left for them. The clothing was a bit too big and very obviously Sandro’s pjs, but they were woolen and warm and Frisk could only sigh with pleasure as they dried their hair more. Sandro entered the bathroom and came out with what appeared to be bandages. He handed them to Frisk, and Frisk took the time to roll them on to cover the wound. They had a strange heat about them that caused the bandages to glow faintly green. Already the ache in their stomach was fading. What kind of bandages were these?

 

“I don’t think I want to get used to you two running around naked.” Becca complained as she shot a glare at the now-clothed and bandaged children and walked into the bathroom with her new clothes. Sandro jumped up onto the bed and hopped a couple of times, laughing. Next door he could hear snores, so he knew he had to keep it down, but he was excited to have a sleepover. He bounced high and did a flip, but failed to go all the way around and landed on his back, half-falling off the bed in the process.

 

Frisk watched him curiously before they scurried under the covers and crawled towards the top of the bed. Sandro watched their progression before he cried out and tackled them. Frisk squeaked and flailed under Sandro’s assault as he began to tickle them through the blanket, cackling all the while.

 

“Seriously?” Becca asked as she reentered the bedroom. Sandro noticed that she was wearing one of Munny’s smaller night gowns with the higher collar. He stared, noting how mature and lovely she looked even as she carefully placed her faded ribbon and belt with her knife on it on the bedside table and crawled into the bed too. She shoved Sandro aside with her foot and shimmied under the covers, startling a little as Frisk popped their head out right beside her. Their hair was a mess, but the smile on their face was brilliant. Becca grabbed their face and playfully shoved them away as well. 

 

“You are not tired, are you?” Sandro asked, already hopping on the bed again. Frisk climbed out from under the covers to tottle a little on the top of the bed as well, standing on the other side of Becca.

 

“Of course I am! We battled a lot today and I used my power quite a bit!” She sounded a little snappish, clearly annoyed at Sandro, and now Frisk, refusing to settle down. Frisk grabbed one of the pillows and fluffed it. “I want to get some sleep.”

 

“Pssh, but it is still early!” Sandro protested, only to receive a pillow to the face. He cried out and stumbled before falling backwards onto the bed. Frisk grinned and threw their fists up at their victory. Becca groaned, burying her face into her pillow. “THIS MEANS WAR!” Sandro growled as he scooped up his own pillow and chucked it at Frisk. The human dodged and caught the pillow, only to be attacked from above as Sandro jumped and smacked them in the head. Becca could do nothing but glare reproachfully as the children fought a fierce battle with their pillow weapons. 

 

It was only after the two were panting and too fatigued to continue did they both collapse onto the bed with sighs. Frisk’s hair was everywhere, but much drier than it had been. Both children had worked up a sweat. The battle had been brutal, but nobody knew who had actually won so they called it a draw. Frisk climbed off of the bed to use the bathroom before the three of them settled properly into the bed and turned out the lights. The snoring next door was louder now, droning in a chorus that sounded faintly familiar.

 

Frisk rolled onto their side and stared at Becca, although Becca couldn’t actually see them do it. She could sense it, though. She didn’t really understand what they wanted and Frisk wasn’t saying. It was weird for her to be sharing a bed with someone (especially a bed this nice and soft. She hadn’t slept like this in a long time). Sandro was already completely comfortable, legs and arms spread in a stretch before he settled down with a pleased sigh.

 

“What is it, Frisk?” Becca finally whispered, turning her head to gaze at them. Her eyes were adjusting some. There wasn’t a window in the small room, but there was a soft glow from some strange stone in the bathroom that was almost like a nightlight. 

 

Frisk ducked their head and then shrugged. “N . . . nothing.” They murmured back.

 

“You sure?” She asked. 

 

Frisk hesitated, and Becca felt a fondness bubble in her chest. She was already getting used to reading the child. For all that Frisk was a quiet person, they always seemed to make their thoughts known in other ways. Becca was glad she was good at interpreting the signs. She waited for Frisk to voice their thoughts.

 

“I just . . .” They sounded embarrassed and a little withdrawn, “I wanted . . . can I . . . cuddle?” Their voice was tiny with the final word. Becca realized that the child fully expected to be rejected, even though they had already slept together before. Maybe she was seeing things wrong . . . but she was starting to wonder if Frisk wasn’t used to physical affection. They had always seemed surprised by casual touches. 

 

Becca didn’t have the heart to say no even as a part of her kind of cringed at the thought. She was used to sleeping alone and liked her space, unsure of how to deal with sharing a space with another person. “Yeah. Sure.” She offered, holding her arm out to them. Frisk blinked at her once before they scooted in, tucking their face against her shoulder and hesitantly wrapped their arm around her chest. Her heart rate picked up a little bit at the contact, but soon she adjusted to the touch. Frisk was already relaxing against her.

 

On the other side of Becca, Sandro rolled over to face them and scooted closer as well, but not to cuddle. “So what about tomorrow?” He asked with a wide yawn. Becca made a face at the blast of breath straight to her face. 

 

“Tomorrow we should go fight Papyrus. And make sure we have enough food. We can’t risk being captured.” She told her friends. 

 

“Right!” Sandro nodded before he huffed a laugh. “Although I do not believe Papyrus will actually give us to the capital.” 

 

“He could though!” Becca warned.

 

“I guess? I think it is more likely he will get Undyne to do it. She is the captain of the guard, after all.”

 

That was worrisome. “Do you know if Papyrus called her?”

 

“I think he did, but Undyne is used to me.” Sandro explained. “She probably thinks that Papyrus and me are playing ‘Human and Guard’. He has used me to practice capturing people before and we fight all of the time.”

 

Becca gave a relieved sigh. “Sandro, honestly I’m really glad you decided to stay here. Things could be a lot worse if you weren’t friends with people in town.”

 

“I know, right?” Sandro grinned. He shuffled around onto his back and yawned again. “Tomorrow we can talk to Munny so I can tell her I am leaving for a while. And then we will fight Papyrus and go to Waterfall and search for other humans!”

 

“Waterfall is next?” Becca asked.

 

“Yes. I have not been there, but I know Undyne lives there.”

 

“Great.” Becca had a feeling things would just get harder from there. Her hand clenched into the covers a bit more. Her LV may come in handy.

 

“Good night.” Frisk whispered.

 

“Good night!” Sandro echoed.

 

“Sleep well.” Becca finally murmured. Tomorrow would be a long day.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like what I do, please consider donating and [Buying me a Coffee?](http://ko-fi.com/A7887PE) All proceeds go towards food I need to survive while I pay bills and such so I can focus on writing a bit more ;;


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